Chaos. There is no better word to describe him than chaos. He single handedly tries to destroy our house, and his deafening need for attention will one day drive us to lose our minds. But he’s mine, and he’s perfect in all his unruliness. He’s my puppy, and he is a rescue.

The saying goes “who rescued who” and the truth is spoken plainly and simply in that small question. While he was the one who was abandoned, and left to be killed, his love, personality and charisma are the things that have managed to put a smile on everybody’s face, no matter what the day was like.

He’s warm cuddles at the end of the night, and someone to sneak my vegetables to when I don’t want to eat them. He’s an afternoon walk, where his fascination with the world reminds you to be amazed by its awe and wonder too. He’s hours in the backyard playing fetch and spending quality time with friends and family. He’s a laugh as he scares himself by backing up in to a table and he has brought us out of the woods, literally and figuratively.

He’s also frustration. His incessant need to take everything off the one table in the dining room every time we accidently leave something up there will one day drive me mad. And his constant barking but then running away when we try to give him attention is confusing and exasperating. His energy level is higher than a toddler, and he is forever stuck in his terrible twos.

But again, he’s mine and I wouldn’t trade him for the world. He’s my rescue, and he has made our house of four humans and four dogs complete.

Rescuing was never a part of the game plan. We didn’t need another dog, there was no reason to have one. But one photo of him and our hearts were melted. When he walked in to our house for the first time, he wasn’t sure what this weird new land was, and you could see on his face the fear of being left again. He didn’t know how to interact with other dogs, or take love from us. He was broken and had to be rebuilt.

Almost a year later, and you can see he is a new dog. The fear and stress of his past still creep up on him sometimes, and we have to give him calming treats to settle down his anxiety as he paces around the house for the 1000^th time. But he smiles. He wags his nub of a tail, and he plays with his toys and the other dogs constantly. He cuddles on the couch with us and he greets us at the door with love and kisses.

So who rescued who? Yeah, maybe we took him home from the kennel, but he is the one who gave us the love and fun that has brought us all together for some good laughs and great memories. He is the hugs on a bad day and the kisses on the couch. He rescued us as much as we rescued him. He brought a lot of chaos but also a lot of fun back when it was needed. It wasn’t planned and it wasn’t what was expected, but it was and continues to be a new perfection.

There are thousands upon thousands of animals out there just like my rescue, who are alone, scared, and not sure what they did to get the hand they were dealt. They are full of love, and they just need a family to give it to. So think about rescuing, about giving one of these animals a shot at a story like my dog's, and giving your life the amazing happiness that is rescuing and loving one of these animals. You may think it's not worth it, but your life will never be the same for all of the right reasons. You give an animal a home and a chance, they will give you love you never knew was possible, and they will rescue you from the contentment and mundanity we so often get caught in with our lives.

My puppy will cause problems, but he will also cause laughs, and love, and for those things, the chaos is worth it.