Plus One

 A true sabra (native born Israeli), Mindy is a 4 month-old pup from the JSPCA shelter. I adopted her on January 25th. She is half Pinscher and half Terrier, tiny, cuter than anything you've ever seen, and so smart. Named after comedian Mindy Kahling, this Mindy has just as many quirks and thus receives just as many laughs. We've already been through a lot together in just 2 short weeks so I'm sure we'll be best buds for life!

Getting Mindy means a lot for me.

1. I have no family here and she is my first "real" family. Of course I have very amazing, generous, and caring friends who have been nothing less than family to me, but there is something different with Mindy. She is for me and I am for her and we are our own little mishpaha (family).

2. I'm making it here. One of my Aliyah goals was to be able to adopt a puppy by my 1 year Aliyah anniversary. And here I am with Mindy. The same thing happened with my job. I wanted to find a position doing the kind of work I'm doing for an organization like Masa Israel and I'm doing exactly that. Aliyah is hard, but if we persevere it is so worth it.

3. I'm a grown up. As a kid my family had an amazing dog, Max, who sadly passed when I was in high school. I begged my parents for years to get another one and they always said "No more dogs! When you're a grown up you can get your own dog and take care of it." So again, here I am with Mindy. I'm a grown up and I live on my own and I got a dog. Look at me now mom and dad!

So here is to #MindyThePup. May she feel loved always. May she continue to bring happiness to all those who meet her. May we live a long and happy life together.