Rainey wanted to write about me, but I told her I wanted to tell my own story.
So, here it is:

I was born on the Homeless Puppy Farm in Chantilly, Virginia. My Doggie-Mommy was a beautiful Golden Retriever and my Doggie-Daddy was a Dachshund. That sounds like a funny mix, doesn’t it? But, all of my brothers and sisters were really cute. There were six of us in my litter. (I don’t know why people get to call their siblings “families” and puppies have to call them “litters.” Oh, well…)

My Mommy was one of the “found doggies.” Someone found her, and she was badly hurt. The people at the place I used to live put a cast on her leg and put my Doggie-Mommy in with the little bitty dogs, thinking they would leave her alone. My Doggie-Daddy didn’t (leave her alone.)

When I was very little, I learned about my magic powers. All of my brothers and sisters were fighting over my Mommy’s milk. The people at the Puppy Farm thought I was going to die. I was the runt of the litter, and I would hear them talking about me: “She’s so tiny poor thing…they won’t let her eat…she probably won’t be there in the morning.”

I opened my tiny mouth and said: “Excuse me…” but no one could hear me. I was too weak and couldn’t talk loud enough. All of a sudden it started to rain. I was cold and shivering (and starving). It poured and poured, the rain coating my new, soft, short fur and making me soggy-wet. When it finally stopped, I saw a rainbow up in the sky. The words: “she probably won’t be there in the morning” were ringing in my ears, but I tried to focus on the beauty of the rainbow. All of a sudden, I felt all those beautiful warm colors inside me. I wasn’t cold anymore. I wiggled my tiny little tail feeling the power of the rainbow within myself and said:

And, all my brothers and sisters looked up to see who was talking. They were pretty shocked to see this tiny ball of brownish-red fur! But, it worked because they smiled and made room for me to eat, too. The next morning the people were surprised to see me, happy and warm, snuggled in beside my family. They sheltered me from the cool night wind and protected me until I was big and strong.

A few weeks later, my new Mommy (Rainey) came and got me. That morning, I woke up and knew something important was going to happen. I was so excited that I was running laps around the yard when she arrived. I ran right up to her and jumped as high as I could right in front of her. I think she could understand me saying, “Pick me…pick me. We belong together!” She looked down at me, gave the scruff of my neck a nice strong rub and said, “I want this one!” I heard the lady who ran the puppy farm tell her, “She’s really something, that one. Should have been the runt of the litter, but wound up being the strongest one. She’s smart alright, fast as lightening and sweet, too.” Rainey reached down, picked me up with one hand and gave me my first ever kiss on the head. We took one look at each other and both knew we belonged together.

It was kind of sad to leave my family, but I knew we were starting out on an exciting adventure together. That’s how I got Rainey as my new Mommy. She’s very sweet to me and always tells me that I was her first child. She even tells people when we go and visit schools or shelters that I am her “four-legged child.”

Rainey and I do lots of fun things together. For years, we did a homeless outreach walk in Georgetown. Everyone on the streets knew me. Even if they didn’t remember Rainey, they would say: “Look, here comes Jazz with my dinner!” I would talk with everyone and they would all pet me. Sometimes, I would sit for a long time while they talked and talked. I would wag my magic tail and make them feel better about themselves. I would tell them:

Whenever we would leave, they would have a smile on their faces.

We also stayed overnight every other week at a Transitional Shelter for Women. They loved it when I came to visit. Rainey would tell them about legal services that were available, but I think they just liked hanging out with me better.

When Rainey started working with children with disabilities, I went with her to her office. The kids she helped loved to play with me while she talked to their parents about legal matters. I worked my magic on a lot of children to let them know how special and loved they are. One little boy I remember, in particular, was autistic. He had never really said words. He spoke in sounds. One day when he saw me, he was so excited that I was in the office, he said “AZZ…AZZ…AZZ!” His grandmother started crying and hugging Rainey saying that I was a magic doggie because the little boy had remembered my name and it was his first real word. That was a really special day!

Here’s what I told the little boy:

There are a lot more special stories I could tell you about. This is just the beginning, so check back here often and read about other adventures I’ve had. We all need to know that we’re all the same, even if someone has a disability or they don’t have a home, they are still wonderfully, unique little beings worthy of love, dignity and respect. That’s what I tell all my special friends. I can’t wait to meet you and tell you, too!