Lauren, a college student who fostered dogs, proved that one could overcome anything if you sincerely give it your all. It was through sincerity, patience, and love that Lauren was able to meet a companion of a lifetime in a dog named Annabelle – a companion that gave her inspiration to move further and helped her see the beauty in everything.
Annabelle was rescued off the street, roaming alone. From the state she was in, it was apparent that she had been involved in dog fights. When Lauren took her in for fostering, Annabelle was severely underweight and was so sad she never wagged her tail even once.
Lauren would pet and hug Annabelle. The dog would let her do so, but Annabelle just sat in place, unresponsive to affection. She tried to get Annabelle to sleep with her in her room, but the dog would rather sleep alone on the floor of the living room.
As days passed, however, Annabelle warmed up a bit to Lauren’s persistent show of affection. She would come to Lauren for her daily dose of petting. One night, Lauren found Annabelle on top of her bed, curled up next to her toy monkey. The most memorable incident, however, happened at 5am, when Annabelle suddenly jumped up the bed and cuddled next to Lauren. It was Lauren’s proudest moment as a foster mom.
Annabelle transformed from being unresponsive to loving constant human attention. Her real personality started coming out. Annabelle turned out to be a fun-loving and goofy dog who loved making Lauren smile.
But as a foster mom, Lauren had to take Annabelle back to the shelter to get adopted. She cried the day she dropped Annabelle back to the shelter. She quickly realized that she just couldn’t let her go, so Lauren texted her sister and was overjoyed when her sister sent her Annabelle’s photo, at the back seat of her sister’s car, waiting to be reunited with her again.
A week later, Lauren and Annabelle were quite the inseparable pair that Lauren couldn’t imagine life without Annabelle in it. They are now doing everything together, from studying for Lauren’s exams, even bathroom breaks, and taking walks.
Images courtesy of Lauren Dagle
