I would somehow find myself passing the info on to my husband and study his face for a positive reaction. I was always ready to race out the door to get the dog while "We don't need another dog" seemed to be his stock reply. We already had his older Yellow Lab and Niles my 5 year old Weimaraner. Niles came to live with me when he was 6 months old. My daughter acquired him when she was in Nebraska living on an Airforce base. He was born on a little family farm outside of Omaha. My daughter came back home to northern California with Niles to live with me while she looked for a job. She found a job and was going to school 50 miles away. Meanwhile I had deeply fallen in love with Niles. Much to my joy, my daughter decided that Niles would be way better off staying with me. I was ecstatic!

I joined a group of fellow Weimaraner lovers on the internet that belong to the WeimList. It is there that I kept hearing tales of Weims needing to be rescued. One of the list members is an incredible veterinarian in Madrid. Last March she happened to cross post a story she came across on another list of a 5 year old spayed female in Nebraska needing a home. This dog was the same age as Niles and came from the same area. This dog could be Niles sister! There was no way I could let this one out of my mind. My husband saw the intensity in my eyes and still gave his stock answer but this time it was followed by...."We'll it's your decision". That was all I needed to hear.

I contacted the woman in Nebraska that was fostering her and we asked each other a ton of questions. It seems that the former family of this sweet Weim had just moved from Omaha to North Platte, Nebraska to find work. They acquired her 2 years ago from their neighbor in Omaha when the neighbors moved. This family now found themselves in a new town but couldn't find a place that would rent to someone with pets. They were staying at a Motel 6 with 2 dogs and 3 cats in their van. The father in his frustration or lack of responsibility had decided the only answer was to take the pets to the pound. Not knowing much of the situation it is hard to judge. One of the motel workers had recognized that one of the dogs was a Weimaraner and gave the father a name of a woman he knew of that raised, bred and trained Weimaraners in the area.

She was contacted and the next morning a van pulled up to her door with 3 young children in tears. The father brought the dog out, she had no leash or collar and he said her name was Rae but they just called her "R". He was quite brusque and couldn't wait to leave. He gave no other info as to her background. My heart was breaking.

Well, I told my daughter and we gave each other the "look". We figured out our work and school schedules and grabbed our maps and Niles and headed out to Nebraska. It was a fast but wonderful trip. Just Niles and us girls and the truckers on Highway 80. Of course it was love at first sight when we saw "R". The first thing we decided was to give her a real name. We came up with Risa...short for Sonrisa which means "smile" in Spanish, and the word "risa" also means "laughter" in Spanish. She responded right away to that name so that was that!

We drove all day and night and arrived home at 7 am. My husband was still sleeping. His heart melted immediately when she snuggled right up to him. Risa fit in instantly and it just felt like she had been here forever.

Niles showed her all the good places to hike and swim. Since then Rocky the Lab has gone on to greener more peaceful pastures and Risa and my husband are the best of movie buddies. A regular pair of Siskel's and Ebert's....he reviews the movies and she reviews the bowl of popcorn.

So because of a long string of circumstances, a Motel 6 employee, a kind hearted Weim breeder, a internet message via Spain, we have the pure pleasure of sharing our hearts and home with sweet Risa.

--Joanne & Niles & Risa