Teddy and Lily – It was meant to be!

Melissa, Teddy & Lily: A Love Story

Teddy and Lily at the Ball Game

Since Melissa Siedlicki adopted Taz, a 12-year golden through Golden Bond, she has become a stalwart GBR volunteer. She started doing home visits in the Tacoma area and has gone on to foster dogs and make her home available as a transition stop for dogs coming into Sea-Tac airport – and for the people who help transport them.

In May 2017, Melissa welcomed a 2 ½-year-old golden boy named Teddy, who was rescued from a high-kill shelter in Busan, South Korea. Though he had tested negative for heartworm before leaving, he tested positive in the U.S. So after two weeks with Melissa and Heidi, a 9-year-old foster, Teddy spent two months away for heartworm treatment and recovery.

“Teddy must have been a family pet in Korea, because he was very well behaved. And he was the happiest dog ever,” Melissa recalls. “Then when he was gone, I found myself missing him – even though I had Heidi. I realized, oh my gosh, I am in love with this dog. I don’t know if I’ll be OK with someone else adopting him.”

So when Teddy was healthy again, he got to return to Tacoma, but this time to his new forever home with Melissa and his friend Heidi. In the two years since, he has joyfully welcomed other GBR foster friends into his home as Melissa’s official “ambassadog.”

Then in May, two 1-year-old puppies – Lily and Pansy – arrived from China with LOTS of energy that kept Melissa very busy. But after Pansy was adopted, Melissa was able to focus on Lily and training her to get ready for adoption.

Although Lily can be handful and can be “a bit of a brat,” she is very smart and has a playful energy that is very endearing. “All of sudden I realized that I couldn’t let her go,” Melissa said.

So, on August 1 this year, Lily became Teddy’s official little sister, and the two are the best of friends, joyfully playing, snuggling and going on fun outings like baseball games. And always, Teddy is the “good boy” while Lily likes to the push the envelope to see what she can get away with.

Melissa couldn’t be happier – though she admits she sort of “failed” as a foster mom with the two of them. “Every once in a while, you get caught off guard when you give dogs a safe place to land,” she said. “But I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

Next August Newsletter Article: Feature on An Adoptable Dog: Lenny's Story