This is a love story. It’s the story of a little Mexican street puppy who stole the hearts of a couple celebrating their 10 year wedding anniversary in Playa del Carmen. It’s a story that ends in the best anniversary gift a couple could ever ask for – Sandy.
The Peanut Pet Shelter is a no-kill animal shelter in Playa del Carmen. Andy and Jen tirelessly run the place at all hours in their own home. Every Saturday afternoon, they invite anyone who will come to a pet wash. We bring snacks and drinks and spend the afternoon washing all of the dogs in a big outdoor tub and socializing with one another. It’s messy and fun and I fell in love there. Another pet washer happened to take a photo of her daughter, and inadvertently caught me bending over a little tan dog who was quietly but sweetly inching her way into my life.
A few moments later, the same woman took a picture of that same little dog kissing her husband.
You can’t see me in that photo. However, I remember what I was doing. I was standing off to the side, feeling jealous.
There are so many sweet, lovely dogs at that shelter. But Corey and I had fallen in love with Sandy, the curly-tailed smiling little puppy that even seemed to stick out in group photos.
Corey and I already had three rescue dogs at home, as well as some cats. Our heads were telling us that we should stick to the number of animals that we already had. But our hearts were pounding with love for the sweet little puppy that rolled over on her back whenever we approached, the sandy-colored girl that eagerly covered our faces with kisses. Throughout the days after we met her, we talked and talked and talked about Sandy. Still on vacation, we’d be having beers or eating dinner out somewhere and inevitably, one of us would look at the other coyly and say, “Sandy.”
The other would sigh and simply say, “I know.”
Corey would pull out his cell phone and show me her photo. I’d simply respond. “Aw. Sandy.”
On the Monday following the pet wash, we made the decision. I think we’d made it the moment we met her, but it was on Monday that we formally made the decision that Sandy would come home with us. Yes, we had plenty of animals already. However, we knew that if we went home without Sandy, we’d regret it forever. We knew we’d just come home and look at photos of her and wish we had taken her home. We became devoted to taking Sandy back to the U.S. with us and giving her love, companionship, and a comfortable home.
I called Andy at the shelter that afternoon and told him that we wanted to bring Sandy home. He told us to arrange the logistics with our airline and then fill him in on the details. Here we hit a huge obstacle. Sun Country did not allow animals on international flights. We were devastated. Sandy would not be able to fly home unless she was on a flight chaperoned by a trustworthy traveler. I shed a lot of tears, feeling like it was a hopeless situation.
Then we decided not to give up.
We turned to our friend Jez at the Beer Bucket, a popular little bar on Calle 10. He almost always has his laptop up and running there, and is a frequent and popular poster on www.playa.info, our favorite Playa website. I posted about my problem and began receiving responses in no time, many from folks unable to help but wishing us luck. Then help came, in the form of a lovely woman named Maureen.
Maureen lives in Chicago and would be flying back to the U.S. a week after we arrived home. She agreed to take Sandy on her flight and then meet us in the Wisconsin Dells for the handover of our precious cargo. We were delighted that someone stepped up so quickly in an offer to help us. I have never found one forum that has so many helpful and kind posters.
The night before we left Playa, we had to go to the shelter and say goodbye to Sandy. My heart was pounding when I saw her.
We couldn’t keep our hands off of her.
Goodbye for now, little one!
One week later, our dream came true.
Jen from the shelter was particularly fond of Sandy, and found it hard to say goodbye.
Andy from the shelter personally brings the animals to the airport himself in order to make sure that there are no problems getting them on the flight.
We drove to Wisconsin Dells to meet Maureen and Sandy. My heart thumped and thumped as they got closer and closer to us.
She was just as cute as we remembered, if not cuter.
Maureen is a really nice woman. I think Sandy kind of fell in love with her. She almost seemed reluctant to accept me, instead of Maureen, as her new mom.
It was such a joyous afternoon, actually having Sandy with us. We pulled it off, thanks to some help from some great people.
We drove through a scary storm on the way home from Wisconsin. The wind rocked the truck back in forth and I was terrified, but Sandy didn’t seem to mind.
Sandy tears delightedly around her new home with her new dog friends. She chases the cats and nips them on the ears. She sleeps at night between me and Corey, snuggling against us and burying her face in my hair. When no one is looking, she sneaks through the cat door and down into the basement. She snuggles up on the couch for naps. She kisses and kisses and kisses. She also looks like a meerkat!
We found a homeless little dog in another country, held her in our hearts, and brought her home. This is a love story, a love story with a happy ending. We need more of these.
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