Living Pretty With Your Pets: Driven by Décor
Happy Friday friends! Are you getting ready for Memorial Day weekend? We sure are because it’s one of our favorite weekends of the year.
Today I have to introduce you to another very talented and beautiful blogger, Kris from Driven by Décor, and her “oh so adorable” little furry girl Hope:
Hi all, I’m Kris from Driven by Décor! When Julia asked if I would be part of her Living Pretty with Your Pets series, I couldn’t say yes fast enough because (#1) Julia is a designing force to be reckoned with. You’ve seen her house, right? Her dining room, kitchen, foyer, okay every room in her house is just amazing and her blog is one of my must-reads. And (#2) my dog, Hope, is one of my favorite things in the world to talk about – I’m a little bit totally and completely obsessed with her cuteness and quirky personality:
Hope came into our lives a few months after we had to put our spunky Boston terrier of 13 years, Kahlua, to sleep. Losing Kahlua was heartbreaking for our entire family and our house seemed so empty without her. While we knew she could never be replaced, I loved the idea of adopting a rescue dog who needed a good home and I got on Petfinder “just to look”, thinking it would take a while to find a dog who was a good fit for our family. But it only took about five minutes because after reading Hope’s story on Petfinder I knew that she was meant to be ours.
Hope and her sister came from an abusive home and they had both developed mange that was left untreated to the point that they hardly had any hair left on their bodies and were an itching mess.
A local pet rescue organization took them in and started their mange treatment – they had tried to adopt both dogs out to a single family but were unsuccessful and had already adopted out Hope’s sister by the time we saw Hope on Petfinder. They were having a hard time finding a family for Hope because she was so shy and because not many people wanted to take on the burden and expense of the treatment that was needed to cure her mange. It just so happened that our old Boston terrier had mange as a puppy too and we were familiar with the treatment and follow-up care that was required. It was meant to be. We emailed the rescue organization with our information and how much we would love to have her and just a few days later we met her, fell in love, and she was ours!
It didn’t take long for Hope to become everybody’s favorite family member. She has the sweetest personality ever and from day one has happily let our girls carry her around and snuggle her to their heart’s content!
Mr. Driven by Décor had a little bit more of a manly dog in mind when we were starting to consider looking for one but Hope won him over within hours. Not only does he proudly walk this little 13 pound ball of love around the neighborhood but he’ll even do it while she’s wearing her ever-so-unmanly snow leopard winter jacket. Yep, she’s got him wrapped around her paw!
While Hope has a special bond with each of us, she’s a mama’s girl at heart and is my little shadow all day long. You’l find her sunbathing in front of the work light while I’m painting or giving me the stare-down if I’ve been working on a project too long without paying her any attention. This is her all too familiar “When are you ever going to be done? I want to go for a walk.” look:
Hope’s also the best of photo bombers and weasels her way into my blog pics all of the time. It wasn’t until after I published this blog post on our home office progress earlier this week that I noticed a mysterious black blob underneath the desk that looks suspiciously like a Boston terrier…
Another one of Hope’s best features is that she’s a champion snuggler! Such a talent cannot be wasted so she’s allowed up on our furniture with us. Our key to keeping our furniture from getting ruined is to have irresistibly plush throws that she chooses to lie down on instead of the couch cushions themselves. So if you’ve been to my house in the middle of the summer and have wondered why I have a thick fur throw on my living room sofa, now you know!
Bedtime is probably Hope’s favorite time of day – she hops into bed with whichever of her sisters goes to sleep first and then changes over to our bed in the middle of the night. And there’s no sleeping at the foot of the bed or next to the bed for her. That would be too…dog-like. Instead, she dives under the blankets and then pops her head back out so she’s perfectly tucked into bed.
While she’s truly one of the sweetest and most well-behaved dogs I know, all of us (dogs included) have our vices. For Hope, it’s the daily tearing up of the mail. In our old house, it was the highlight of her day to grab the mail in her mouth as it came through the mail slot and tear it up and spread it all over the foyer (you can see her in action {here}). And I’m pretty sure it was the highlight of our mail carrier’s day to watch her through the sidelights. I’m also sure that my bank is still talking about the girl who was always coming in to deposit checks with teeth marks on them…
Tschüß
(Youleeya)
I LOVE Kris and what a precious pup and story! This might be the most photogenic dog I’ve ever seen! Great pics!
Lovely to hear the whole story of Kris and hope on your blog Julia. What a lucky little dog! I’ll be sure to check out your blog now!
Oh my goodness, Kris needs to frame the bedtime picture. Too cute! Love that she gave this precious pup a second chance.
How precious! I love Kris’s blog and I loved hearing Hope’s story! Pets really do add so much love to a home…and humor too! Love the mail obsession!
-Shelley
I love stories with a happy ending! So glad Hope is doing well and has a forever home. I’m still cracking up at the picture with the mail.
Aww, what a huge hearts Kris and her family have for taking in Hope! Love the story and the obvious joy sweet little Hope brings to their home!
I love this story and hope is the sweetest! Every family needs a pet they love that much! 🙂
What a sweet face. THIS must be the dog who inspired the phrase: The dog ate my homework. If the homework was being mailed home that is 🙂
Aw, what a sweet girl! Love the pic of her all tucked in to the bed. And the one with the mail 🙂
I love reading the posts about rescued pets. Hope is such a lucky girl and looks soo sweet!
Second chance stories are my favorite too 🙂
I love Bostons! When I was young, my boyfriend had one – his name was Brutus (the dog, not the boyfriend!) and the family had to wipe his butt. Brutus would run right into the bathroom waiting patiently for someone to give him a hand!
Glad to see she was rescued!
Kelly
I love this! Rescues are the way to go…they are the best.
xo
Pat
oh i love this story! hope is adorable and i love kris even more after reading this!
I love this- you know i’m a sucker for an adorable boston! That video was too freakin cute. Besides the mail shredding, her pup seems way chiller than mine #jealous
Charlie is also very interested in that little cutie 😉
Goodness gracious what a darling little sweetheart! I’m dying over the leopard coat picture! So precious!
Hope is truly adorable Kris and you guys are all lucky to have each other !!!!! Thanks for sharing this with us! You look gorgeous by the way!
I loved reading Hope’s story. (It makes me so happy to see a pet with an unhappy past, find a wonderful forever family.) And Hope is so stylish in her snow leopard coat!
Aw look at little Hope! So cute!