Once Upon A Time . . . there was a girl who really loved animals, and kindness, and joy. That’s Me!

A Little Black Dog has been an imagination of mine for many years, inspired by Gizmo Valentino Maxwell McGillacuddy, a little black dog who changed my life.

He was found wandering the streets of San Clemente, California, and picked up by the local shelter. No one came to get him, and he was being over-looked; not uncommon for black dogs. The Shelter staff named him Gizmo.

I was an Executive Director for a Senior Living Community in the area, and we were looking for a “House Dog”. Our Marketing Director and I went to that shelter in hopes of finding the right match. Though I was unsure about him, our Marketing Director pleaded with me to adopt Gizmo. We adopted Gizmo just before Valentine’s Day, hence his middle name. More on his full name in another chapter.

 That Marketing Director left the Community a few months after his adoption; and I left a few months after that. I kept in touch with staff, who told me Gizmo was very depressed and wouldn’t eat. I felt responsible. I was still grieving the loss of my magical cat, Lucy, who had recently crossed the Rainbow Bridge. I considered his options. And as Serendipity would have it, I knew Gizmo belonged with me.

When I came to get Gizmo, he was laying on a chair, alone in an office, head between his paws. I quietly said his name. He looked up and leaped out of the chair, tail wagging with a big smile on his little face. Once in the car, he immediately climbed into my lap. I held onto his harness as he stuck his head out the window as far as he could reach, wind blowing his ears back, nose pointed North. He knew he was going home.

And the rest, as they say, is History. Oh, yes, there is much more to our story, so many tails to tell, which I will share in our Blogs. But for now . . . The End

Jacquie McCord