From Breaking Headlines to Melting Hearts

Since 2013, Petco Love has celebrated the love that we share with our pets through our annual Love Stories campaign. In partnership with BOBS® from Skechers®, we’re excited to celebrate the special connection between Tim and Freedom, an adopted beagle from SpokAnimal in Washington. Together, they earned lifesaving funding for SpokAnimal, BOBS® from Skechers® shoes, and a Petco shopping spree! 

Tim + Freedom’s Winning Love Story 

I am a news anchor for a local TV station in Spokane, Washington, and a long-time beagle owner.

In September 2022, when I learned that 16 of the 4,000 Envigo beagles rescued from a Virginia breeding facility would be coming to SpokAnimal to find homes, I jumped on the opportunity to share their story. Little did I know, another story was about to unfold.

As I approached the shelter to film my report, I could hear baying, howling and joyful noises from the play yard. Walking through the fence, I was swarmed by 16 rambunctious puppies jumping on me, giving me kisses, and clamoring for attention. In that moment, I was overcome with emotion. I was moved to tears thinking of the conditions they’d come from and that anyone could ever harm them, but I was also filled with compassion for every single one of them. I knew these dogs deserved all the love and care that they had been deprived of, and I realized I wanted to provide that for at least one of them.

As we filmed, one beagle kept following me. It was easy to tell her apart from the crowd because she has three white-colored legs and one tan leg, almost like she was missing a sock. She didn’t have a name, but the lab tattooed ‘CNC CEL’ inside her ear. I picked her up, held her, and could feel her relax into me. She felt safe and so did I. I named her Freedom, after the Beagle Freedom Project, which had worked for the dogs’ release. It was also a decree to the life she would live from that moment forward.

A few months later, my best friend passed away from cancer. Freedom brought me so much joy during a season with so much sadness. From playing in the yard, to her stealing my laundry, she made me smile. She was a beacon of light that helped me find my way through one of the darkest times of my life. As my grief subsided, she also changed my life by helping me overcome anxiety. Freedom gave me the confidence to host a Beagle Birthday “Pawty,” and invite all the other 15 beagles and their families. With a doggie cake, decorations, and birthday hats for the pups, some might have thought it an absurd event, but to every adopter there, it was poignantly satisfying. We were all bonded by love stories that had the same origin.

Freedom continues to live up to her name and brings me joy with all her antics. She’s quite spunky, an escape artist, and a strong lady living amongst two other boy dogs. She’s also amazingly fast! There are times where she runs laps around the house, and I pause to think about how happy she is and savor that she’s free. My heart fills with love. She doesn’t know it, but she’s freed me too.

Each year, Petco Love Stories invites adopters to share how their pets have changed their lives to give the organizations that they’ve adopted from the chance to receive grant awards. This story by Tim won SpokAnimal in Washington a 2024 Love Stories award. 

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