Nineteen months ago and just six weeks after I got married, I convinced my husband to let me adopt a crazy, mixed-up dog, with a lot of “issues”, who was close to entering his 11th month at Harvest Hills Animal Shelter.

It took some pleading, but when Chris finally “caved” and let me sign on the dotted line, it was one of the best decisions we had made as a couple. Rocky, even with his off the wall behaviors and bi-polar like mood swings, could not be loved more by us. Needless to say, there is never a dull moment with “The Rock”, and I would not want it any other way.

But this article is not about a successful adoption. It is about helping another dog by the name of Kia find her forever home. See, Kia will soon be entering her 11th month at Harvest Hills and quite honestly, I do not understand why, since Kia has far less issues than Rocky.

Kia was brought to the shelter by a couple who said they found her on the side of the road. They went on to say she spent the night with them in their bed and was great with their grandchildren. They also said she had a kerchief around her neck that said “Kia” on it. And I may be wrong, but I firmly believe the people who brought Kia to the shelter were probably relatives of her true owners.

For some reason, the kerchief never arrived at the shelter with Kia and I believe this is because there was no kerchief; this was their way of being sure she kept the only name she has probably ever known. I also believe that by them telling the employees Kia was great with their grandchildren, this was their way of saying she was not a dog to be feared.

Now, I am not writing this article to bash the people who surrendered Kia. My last opinion on the matter is that whomever she lived with prior to being brought to the shelter, loved her and surrendering her was probably a very hard thing to do, but when they had to, they did it in a way that would make people realize that Kia was a good dog, not one that should be judged unfairly due to her pit bull cross breed.

I would be amiss if I did not mention that Kia was adopted back in April, but was returned after only two weeks. I called her “temporary” dad a week after she was adopted and was told, “we could not have asked for a better dog.” He went on to say that she was great with their five children and that she goes to work with him and had met hundreds of people, always greeting them appropriately.

However, a week later, she was back at Harvest Hills because they said she was not housetrained. It is another assumption, but a Harvest Hills employee and myself feel that Kia was housetrained when she arrived at the shelter, but after 10 months of being expected to do her business in her kennel she became confused, and now she needs someone with a lot of patience to help retrain her.

If you or someone you know is looking for a little dog that loves people (men, woman and children), please consider Kia. This little girl deserves to be with a family who will exercise her often and show her love that will undoubtedly be returned tenfold. Her future family should be patient and not allow her to be the boss, and they should not allow her to get bored, as this is when bad behaviors will likely show themselves.

Kia needs an energetic family that enjoys hiking or at least long walks. And if you are that family, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about her. Feel free to e-mail me at wmepetproject@roadrunner.com. Likewise, see Kia on the Harvest Hills Animal Shelter Web site at www.harvesthills.org.

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