Our dear, sweet Sofie came into our lives in late 2019 and it was the best Christmas and birthday surprise I could ever ask for. Our other dog, Charlie, suffers from severe separation anxiety. My husband, Wayne, and I had just adopted him from Dogwood Animal Rescue Project three months earlier, in September, 2019. I had fostered a dog from Muttville for one week before we decided to bring home Charlie as the new member of the family. I thought maybe if I foster another Muttville dog during the holidays it would be good for both that dog and Charlie.

We didn’t have any plans to adopt another dog but Sofie changed all of that. When we showed up at Muttville in the late afternoon on November 24, to check out a foster dog, the volunteer took one look at Charlie and said, ‘I got just the dog for you.’ I followed her into one of the rooms and saw a scared little white and black dog hiding under a desk in the corner. I couldn’t make her out but could tell she was a small dog. I’ve never had a small dog before but there’s always a first for everything. Muttville named her ‘Debbie Gibson’ and she was rescue #7588. It was obvious why the volunteer selected Sofie. She looked like a mini Charlie except for the big ears. Her breed looked familiar, those ears! It dawned on me she was a Papillon. I don’t see a lot of Papillons or knew much about them so fostering one would be a learning experience.

While in foster, I had to bring Sofie back to Muttville for a scheduled check-up. As I was leaving the room, she didn’t want to let go of me. As I walked away, I could hear her crying and I felt so bad I wanted to take her back. She had grown attached to us in the two weeks we fostered her and we had fallen in love with the little dog who had so much spunk and energy. All I wanted was to love and take care of this bundle of joy with health issues. The moment I left her was the moment I knew Sofie belonged with our family. We took her home the following day, as soon as it was okay for us to pick her up. She thought we had abandoned her. She was hiding once again in the corner of the room. When I called for her, it took her a few seconds to realize it was me and I had come back for her. She was so excited to leave, once we were outside, she couldn’t wait to get in our car. She was pulling me and knew right away which one was our car. A few days later, we made it official and adopted her on December 7.

Sofie had some health issues since we’ve had her but they were always manageable. She was very resilient and always bounced back. She didn’t act like a senior dog. She was so full of energy, playful, vocal and went for long walks with us around Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Chinatown and the wharf. Wayne and I love that we were able to take Sofie and Charlie around the neighborhood and on long drives without any problems. The four of us have been to Yosemite, Santa Barbara, St. Helena, Healdsburg, Sonoma, Dillon Beach, Mendocino, and countless drives to Half Moon Bay, Pacifica and the Sonoma Coast.

We have so many joyful memories with Sofie in the three years she was with us. We were meant to be together so the hardest part was saying goodbye, not having her around for me to hug, kiss and carry, to sit on our laps, to play with Charlie, to take her on walks. I always told people how easy it was to have her. Sofie was everything I’ve wanted in a dog. The volunteer at Muttville was right when she told me she got just the dog for us.

And for such a small dog and given our short time together, Sofie left a very big hole in our hearts, especially mine.
-Heidi F. & Wayne S.