Bubba

Jennifer Vanderau
Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter

(5/2025) The realization hits her on a random Tuesday night while she’s binge watching Modern Family.

There wasn’t anything really novel about the day. She went to work, came home, got dinner and fed Bubba, her rescued Maltese mix.

It was all part of her normal routine – or as normal as it’s been since she adopted Bubba from the Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter.

He’d been with her for about three months and in the beginning it was kind of touch and go. The shelter wasn’t sure what Bubba’s story was because he was brought in as a stray found running around the area.

It still makes her heart hurt to think about her little guy fending for himself outside. She couldn’t imagine how he found anything to eat, let alone stayed warm.

Bubba took a while to trust her. He was so shy and seemed scared of everything. If the refrigerator door shut too hard, he would jump.

When she first considered adoption, she was looking for a pup to cuddle and snuggle with – she even bought a super fluffy blanket on Amazon to share with her new four-legged friend.

The first few weeks with Bubba didn’t have any snuggling, let alone did he use the blanket with her. In fact, it sometimes took all she had just to get him to eat something.

There were more than a few days in those early weeks that she had serious doubts that she’d made the right decision.

But there was just something about Bubba’s brown eyes and adorable face that made her want to help him and even though he seemed super unsure, she had this funny feeling in her stomach that she had to take him home for some reason.

Two weeks later, she wasn’t so sure.

But by that random Tuesday, something shifts. She’s laughing at the antics of the Pritchett family and cooing at Phil’s “Phil’s-osophy” book for Haley and she’s all wrapped up in the blanket.

During one of her funny, soft noises, she’s surprised to find Bubba had walked up to the couch and is watching her from the floor.

She takes a sip of her after-dinner tea and makes a split second decision. Without changing the inflection in her voice and maintaining a quiet tone, she asks, “Do you want to come up? You can come up,” and pats the blanket.

Bubba actually blinks at her from the floor and looks like he’s trying to make a decision.

She chuckles a little. She can’t help it. He’s just so adorable.

He backs away an inch or two, only to step up to the couch again.

She whispers, “You really are fine, sweetheart. You can sit with me if you want.”

Bubba actually huffs a little and makes the jump to land in her lap on top of the blanket. He curls up immediately, seeming to really enjoy the fluffy material.

They stay in that position for four more episodes of Modern Family and by the time she figures she should turn in, she glances down at Bubba and finds him completely asleep, breathing deeply, utterly at peace.

The TV’s forgotten and her breath catches in her throat as she realizes he’s what she’s been waiting for.

Her whole life, she’s always felt there was something out there, something on the horizon, something on the way to her life.

A shiver travels her spine as she understands it was Bubba.

The fact that this little dog trusts her enough to care for him, to sit with her while she watches her favorite show, to follow her around the house, it all hits her at the same time and her eyes water a bit.

Despite the rough start to their relationship, she knows they will be together for as long as they have and she will enjoy every minute of her life with him.

She doesn’t push the start button for the next episode, but she also doesn’t go to bed. She sits on the couch for a little while with Bubba, stroking his white fur and feeling that instinctive sensation that pet owners experience of faith and security and connection.

That’s the day Bubba truly becomes hers and she knows he is the love of her life.

*****

The Cumberland Valley Animal Shelter accepts both monetary and
pet supply donations. For more information, call the shelter at 717-263-5791
 or visit the website www.cvas-pets.org.