My husband adopted our beloved chocolate lab, Nestle, from the Dumb Friends League 16 years ago, before we even met. She had been there 3 times! She was adopted twice and somehow ended up back there each time. Gavin’s neighbors knew that he had recently lost another chocolate lab named Fudge, who he brought with him from England. His other dog, Rowntree was lonely and grieving. The neighbor had recently visited the DFL and saw that there was another lab available and thought of Gavin.
At first, Gavin didn’t want to visit the shelter because he thought he would end up taking all the dogs home, but he was eventually convinced to just take a look. He asked to see the dog, at the time named, Nellie. Nellie remained under the table in a visiting room for about three hours, while a patient Gavin tried to coax her out. She eventually came to him. It’s surprising that a dog that had been abandoned three times only took three hours to start to build trust again, animals are amazing!
The staff at the DFL asked whether the dog would be going home with him, and he simply smiled and said, “Well, I’m not going to be here for three hours and NOT take her home, am I?” She stayed with us until she was about 16 years old, letting go just a few months ago.
On the way home, he started calling her Nestle. (All of his chocolate labs must be named for some kind of chocolate, but he had to be careful not to change her name too much from what she was used to.) Over time, her nickname became Nestles, and that is how she will always be remembered. Read more about Nestle and how she inspired our company here.
This is why we are honored to support the Furry Scurry and help so many animals find their forever home. Please give what you can, adopt a pet, and spread the word!