Ever since Otis joined Danielle’s family, he’s been fulfilling dreams.
“My boyfriend Matt had wanted a dog his whole life,” Danielle said of their decision earlier this year to adopt a dog. Danielle, who’s adopted nearly all her dogs from Anderson Humane, began searching our website for the right canine companion to join her, Matt, and their two cats.
Danielle had no problem finding dogs that interested her. “I wanted to take them all home,” she said with a laugh. But when they happened on the photos of Otis, then Milo, both Danielle and Matt were intrigued.
“He was so cute,” Danielle said, mentioning his brown fur and hazel eyes. “He looked like a tiny brown angel. So handsome!” And perhaps a bit familiar, as Matt also has brown hair and hazel eyes. “I teased Matt that he just liked Otis because he looks like him.”
When the couple discovered Otis would be at our first Road Home Mega Adoption Event at Brilliance Subaru of Elgin in June, they made plans to go meet him and hopefully take him home. When Matt had to be out of town that weekend, Danielle went to the event alone and adopted Otis, making them a family of five.
Matt met Otis when Danielle picked him up at the airport soon after. “It was such a fun ride home as they were so excited to meet each other,” Danielle said, adding that Matt even got a little misty at his longtime dream of having a dog finally coming true.
By then, Otis had already fulfilled Joey’s dream too. The day Danielle was planning to adopt Otis, her two-year-old nephew Joey apparently woke up and announced that he wanted a puppy. But that wasn’t happening anytime soon, Danielle’s sister told her as she relayed the story.
“Want me to help fulfill Joey’s dream?” Danielle asked her sister, explaining that she was adopting a puppy that very day and could bring him by their house on their way home. It was a win-win. Otis and Joey played on a trampoline and with a ball for a couple of hours before Danielle finally took the pup home. “I have a niece and five other nephews, but Otis is still most excited to see Joey,” Danielle said. “I think he still remembers that first day together.”
Since then, Otis, now nine months old, has brought joy to Danielle and Matt. (The cats are a bit less enthusiastic, even though Otis would love to play with them all the time.) Danielle, who’s a teacher, spent the summer taking Otis everywhere. Her copilot, she called him.
He attended Anderson Humane’s six-week puppy class and has proven to be great with adults, kids, and other animals. He recently discovered snow, which he loves to sniff and rub his nose in. Danielle’s one complaint is that he “takes up all the bed!”
Once he’s a little older, Danielle hopes she can get Otis certified as a therapy dog, so she can take him to the preschool where she works to interact with her special-needs students.
For now, Danielle and Matt are over the moon for their puppy. Danielle said Otis is spoiled and that Matt is always buying him treats. Perhaps that’s because a dog was so long-awaited. “Every now and then Matt will get a bit weepy and say, ‘I can’t believe we have a dog. And he’s so great!’”