Sometimes a second look is all it takes: Send us your pet stories

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, Ohio — This little girl is Juju, a 2-year-old pit-terrier mix we adopted from the Cuyahoga County Animal Shelter in Valley View.

It had been many years since we had a dog, and after retiring, we started looking in earnest. We wanted a small dog similar to the one we had before — about 15 pounds, a little cuddle bug.

We came to find out that most shelters don’t have those kinds of dogs. The vast majority are pit bulls or pit bull mixes.

We saw Juju (formerly known as Giggles) in one of the first cages at the shelter. We paused and commented on how cute she was, but walked past because we didn’t think we wanted a pit mix.

After walking down all the aisles, we came back to her cage, and if possible, we thought she was even cuter than before!

We talked for several minutes, weighing the pros and cons. How big would she get? What would her temperament be? After all, she’s a pit bull, and everything we had heard about the breed was negative. We asked to have her brought into a meeting room with us so we could have a little time to get to know her. She was a complete doll and knew exactly how to win us over! Head in our laps, big brown eyes looking back at us — we were done!

We filled out the adoption paperwork and learned that she was thought to be about a year old, and at 32 pounds, she wasn’t likely to get significantly bigger.

She had been picked up as a stray, but there was no additional information available about her.

We went home to get her new house ready and buy food and supplies for her. We picked her up on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving in 2022.

We couldn’t love her more! She is a sweet girl with a happy personality and tons of energy! She’s smart and knows how to get treats on demand. She loves riding in the car and heads straight to the garage door when we ask her if she wants to go for a ride.

She makes us laugh every day, and we are so happy that we overcame our resistance to a dog of her breed. She’s a true joy! And cute, right? Ed and Nancy Hatgas, Brooklyn Heights

Do you share your life with an animal that is near and dear to you? Tell us something about your pet – all species are welcome – and send along a photo of the two of you. Be sure to tell us which Greater Cleveland community you live in. Send everything to Ann Norman at anorman@cleveland.com.