After buying my first place, I knew I had to get moving on my priorities—the first of which was getting a dog. Growing up, we had always adopted our family pets, so I knew I wanted to do the same this time around. I ended up with a small Chihuahua, who is so aptly named Snaps (which, of course, has nothing to do with his charming personality).

Snaps and I enjoyed about a year together before I felt I was ready for a second dog to complete our home. I was referred to the shelter on 110th and decided one weekend to bring Snaps in for a trek to the city… in hopes of finding a perfect fit.

The first dog I looked at was a beautiful white pit bull that was in desperate need of a home. Upon seeing her, I hoped that I could rescue her and provide her with a loving home. Snaps, however, had a different idea in mind and was not as taken by her as I was. In order to ensure that my home was healthy for both animals, I knew I needed to find a dog that was a fit for both Snaps and me, so I tearfully kept up the search. A shelter behaviorist named Louis was extremely helpful and, after seeing how upset I was, decided to bring me back to look at some of the other pits that had not yet been placed.

As we walked around, I noticed a small gray pocket pit curled up in the back of her crate. When we took her out, I noticed her ears—one that stands up and one that lies down—and knew this pretty little girl was one of a kind! I sat down to play with her and she immediately ran up to me to plant kisses all over my face. That was it… I was in love. I hoped that Snaps would feel the same, so Louis and I brought her over to meet him. As luck would have it, the two got along perfectly! A day later, I came back into the city to bring home my new addition!

It has been about four months since Chloe first joined our family and things could not be more perfect. Chloe has added so much more love, excitement and enjoyment to our lives, and we have all benefitted from it. Snaps loves having a partner in crime and I enjoy my new running partner and lap dog (albeit a rather large lap dog). The most enjoyable part is watching Chloe interact with others and how quickly people are to comment on her loving nature. She is a living success story for rescue pits—one that I am sure has influenced many people around us to consider this wonderful breed for their next animal.