Miss Olive as a puppy!
It was my 28th birthday and I had a case of the blues. For some reason, 28 sounded much older and much scarier than 27 (perhaps because 28 was much closer to the dreaded 30!) So,  I took the day off work and my mom came down to the city to meet me for lunch and take me on a mini ” birthday spree”.  I knew my blues would lift quickly with a little shopping and mom time.
There are two routes to Michigan Ave from my house. I thought we should take the Grand Ave route but my mom insisted taking Randolph was much quicker. It was a simple debate and in the end I won because it was my birthday. đ  And this begins the tail of when Carly met Olive…
We walked, we talked and we laughed down Grand Ave enjoying the amazing sunshine beating down on our face.  In the distance, I spotted a cute lil’ pup walking towards us. This pup had something so sweet about her and I, of course, stopped the owner as she came closer to me (I have a problem where I feel the need stop every dog to say hello). “What kind of dog is she?” I asked as I gave her kisses. The woman replied that she was unsure what kind of dog she was as she was fostering her for a week. “She needs a loving home and she loves to watch tv,” said the woman chuckling. At this point, I began to feel a sensation inside of me that this might be fate. Could this sweet lil’ pup (named Stacey at the time) be my new little angel? It felt so right and it seemed like a twist of fate that I happened to take the day off of work, fought to take that specific route and met her on my birthday.  But, I knew I had to think this through and sleep on it.
So, I took the ladies name, said goodbye to Stacey and went on my way.  For the next couple of days, I could not get this lil’ pup off my mind. This had to be fate.  So, I made a call, filled out some paperwork, had an interview, and within days I was on my way to pick up my new pup, who I named Olive.
I have now had Ms. Olive Stein for over 2 years and to say she has been an easy pup would simply not be true. Olive’s history was that she had been picked up in Texas as a stray and sent to a shelter when she was only a baby. From that point, a rescue group in Texas saved her, put her in a animal sanctuary and then Arf House (a shelter in Chicago) shuttled Olive and her sisters & brothers 17 hours back to Chicago to be adopted. (Arf House is a wonderful organization and are such nice people to work with, btw!)
Even though Olive has been a lot of hard work and a much bigger challenge than I had anticipated, I love my little girl to pieces. She is as sweet as they come and truly brings so much joy to my life. Olive loves coming to work with my every day at Out-U-Go! and her favorite part of the day is when the walkers check in and out because she loves to greet each and every one of them with kisses. Olive and I are so lucky that our paths truly crossed and I do believe it was twist of fate. And, as I am about to turn 30, it doesn’t feel so scary anymore. đ
Carly and Olive