We adopted Mae from ABR on 2/8/14.    She was skinny, had been running as a stray for who knows and was picked up in Lampasas and brought to Belton where she was staying at a local animal hospital.   The first week of February, we submitted an application for our family to adopt a boxer baby, and quickly heard back from ABR!  That Friday, when the representative came to our house with Mae, she was actually not one of the dogs I had listed as a possible dog we wanted to meet; but of course, I didn’t care.  She met our requirements of what we were looking for and the moment I saw her sweet demeanor and loving eyes, I was in love and wanted her to be a part of our family.

She was a great match for us.  She had more beds in our house that we did;  hated the doorbell, and barked at any and everything outside of that door/front window; would avoid the rain as much as possible because she couldn’t stand walking on the wet grass to do her business; and eating a piece of string cheese in solitude became a memory.  She could hear a wrapper of cheese from two rooms away!   She also really HATED storms, and always wanted to cuddle with her momma ( and even woke us up in the middle of the night to let us know of the weather happenings.. haha!)

My husband likes to tease me and says there are “dog likers” and “dog lovers”.  He claimed I was the lover, of course, because there wasn’t one night that I didn’t fall asleep without Mae on the bed next to me.  She always laid in my husband’s spot, so each night he would have to get her off the bed to lay on her one of many beds that were in our bedroom.  Looking back, that was Mae’s way of getting her way into his heart.  She knew what she was doing.  I always knew he had a soft spot for her, but it wasn’t until the night of our house fire that I think she permanently stamped a forever place in his heart.  Mae was able to warn my husband of the fire happening in our garage, and got both of them out safely!  I truly believe that if it had not been for her, my husband may not be here today. She was able to alert him before the fire spread thru the house and got both of them out safely.  What a dog!

Mae and I had a relationship for the books.  I had dogs growing up, and was close to them, but our connection was different.  She was my shadow;  I couldn’t leave the room without her getting up to follow me.  The poor dog got stepped on a lot during her lifetime because she was always right behind every step of the way!  This last year, we spent quite a bit of time going for eye treatments (those darn boxer eye ulcers are pesky boogers!).  But, I usually rewarded her on the way out of town with a taco or an ice cream cone treat for being such a good girl.  Even after all the medical treatment and surgeries she endured, Mae was so sweet and would hand out slobbery, SUPER STINKY kisses to everyone she came in contact with.  Her kind soul never faded, even in the end.

Our girl fought the good battle; But rather than watch her suffer any more from her many health issues, we decided that our last gift to Mae was the gift of easing her pain and letting her go.  Our gal had been fighting a losing battle for some time with her ageing body and the decision to let her go was one of the hardest choices that my husband and I have had to make as a family.  She gave us so many memories in the five years we had her, too many to count!  For me, she filled a hole in my heart that had been missing.  She was my person, and I was hers.  She helped me thru some pretty tough times; moving three states away from family, failed pregnancy attempts, a house fire, family losses.  I truly believe our paths were meant to cross.  She never was just a “dog” to us.  She was family and an amazing fur sister to our two-year-old toddler. She enriched our lives with her presence, just as we did for her I am sure.

On Thursday, December 13, 2018, at 2:30pm, we helped our sweet Miss Mae cross over the rainbow bridge into doggie heaven.
Mae’s last days were spent being overly pampered with lots of kisses and back/neck scratches, eating anything and everything she wanted (which did include a lot of ice cream, an 8oz NY strip, and a mini gyro), taking many car rides and trips to the park, and relaxing in her favorite bed (ours…. lol).  Our family misses her terribly, and I find myself crying often when I think of her. I am lost without her companionship.
But we know our Mae-dog is happy and pain-free on the other side; running her figure 8 boxer burns again, beggin’ for table scraps,  and snoozing away on her favorite bed.

ABR is a wonderful organization, and we are SO THANKFUL for ya’ll.  Without ABR, we would’ve never met our Miss Mae, and for that, we are eternally grateful.

With love,
James, Lauren, and Rose Mcmanus