Quoia

Quoia loves Mom Wendy

She’s goofy. She’s silly. She’s a dork. And Mom Wendy and Dad Dean love her for it.

Now about 3 years old, Quoia’s journey into the hearts and home of Wendy and Dean began long before she was a glint of a squeaky toy in their eyes.

It began during their high school days in Green Bay, where Wendy and Dean were friends. After graduation, they pursued their separate careers and marriages, but remained close. Wendy’s love for dogs led her to show dogs as well as train them as a hobby.

After their marriages dissolved, Wendy and Dean found love in their friendship. And Labrador retrievers. Dean loved on Queso a Vizsla/lab mix. Wendy loved on Satchmo a chocolate lab. Soon they loved one another and eventually their adventure took them to  Northern California. They hiked amongst the giant Sequoia trees, which made a serious and lasting  impact on them.

Sadly, they lost Satchmo in 2018; he was 14. In 2021 they lost Queso who was 15. Their home reflects the comforting memories of their lives together. Their commitment to and love for Satchmo and Queso lives on. And though their home was far too quiet without any fur babies, they decided to give life without a dog, a try.

Well, it was an honest try.

But six months was long enough without a fur baby. So, they began working with The Bond Between (formerly Secondhand Hounds) to find their family member.

The daughter of a coworker knew that Wendy and Dean were seeking to expand their family. Suddenly Wendy received word from her that a special dog had arrived.

“Oh my God, she’s the one!” Wendy eagerly shared the news with Dean. They reviewed the sweet girl’s profile. They looked at one another with an unspoken, joyful understanding and promptly began the adoption process.

When she arrived in Minnesota, the young girl was in tough shape. It would be weeks of treatment and recovery before she could go to her forever home. Dean and Wendy waited both patiently and eagerly for her to heal. For six weeks they visited their newest baby and christened her with the name Quoia, in honor of the trees Queso loved to hike in. Hopefully she too, would grow to be stronger and more beautiful with every day.

And grow and run and play, she did. Mom and Dad began feeding her a raw diet. Her treats are blueberries, carrots, and peas. Between a nutritious diet and three walks a day, Quoia, had a good start trying to fill the paw prints of Satchmo and Queso.

And fill them, she did.

The bond between Quoia and her humans is palpable. Quoia loves to learn and Mom loves to teach her; Wendy knows that training is bonding because she was a dog trainer in the past. Quoia’s big eyes track  carefully as Mom softly speaks her commands to sit, stay, park it, Peek-a-boo. Quoia watches and listens intensely. After all, there’s a blueberry  or two just waiting to be devoured at the end of this routine.

There were other commands Quoia needed to learn as she and her humans settled in to a new, beautiful home outside of St. Paul. There, Mom and Dad ensured she would be able to reach and see out the home’s windows. There’s a bed here, a bed there, all to ensure she can alert her humans of mischief. You never know what kind of damage a squirrel can do. It was easy to learn which beds next to the windows were hers. After all, Mom and Dad speak dog.

When she first arrived, Quoia sometimes thought she was a cat. It was nothing for her to jump on top of the sofa back and walk its length. Like a cat.

That stopped quickly when Mom and Dad put a clear, plastic shower curtain on the back of the sofa. It’s a trick Wendy learned from another coworker and Quoia learned quickly. And Quoia doesn’t mind; she has plenty of beds throughout the house (of course she does).

Even though Quoia isn’t allowed on the sofa, chairs, or her humans’ bed, she adores her own piece of furniture. Her kennel. It is where she can go to be safe. The door will remain open for her yet she will stay in her “den” as long as Mom and Dad want her there.

Curious to learn Quoia’s genetic history, they sought a DNA test for her. The results were as fun as Quoia is sweet. She is: 26% Pit-bull; 20% Aussie; 20% German Shepard; some Boxer; three different Hound Dogs (some run very fast); and 100% Good Girl.

She may be silly, goofy, and a dork, but she’s a very happy girl in the loving arms of Wendy and Dean.