Meet Hank

Hank’s story begins when my husband, Justin, saw 3 Dalmatian puppies being walked into a shelter.

For the record, we don’t know if these puppies were being surrendered or if they were going in for a vet appointment.

Justin and I were meeting at Target for groceries and we were coming from 2 different places so naturally, we took 2 different ways to get to Target. I took the interstate and he took the back roads by the local shelter.

When he found me in Target he immediately told me how he was 3 Dalmatian puppies being carried into the shelter. My heart dropped.

Because I am a 90’s Disney Adult, I have a deep attachment to the movie 101 Dalmatians. They have been my favorite breed since I first saw the movie. Now at the time of all of this, we had been a dog-free household for about 3ish years. At this time we had just gotten married and we were figuring out our lives.

However, once my sweet husband saw those Dalmatian puppies going into the shelter that was the beginning of a very fruitful persuasion.

Justin talked about adopting a dog every day since that trip to Target. And one day after he went on and on about the subject, I looked at him and said “Fine! We will go look, ONLY look. They close in an hour so we don’t have to make a rash decision.”

We got in the car and drove to the Asheville Humane Society.

Within 2 minutes of walking through the doors to the dog section, I turned the corner and saw Hank (he was named Chuck Chuck there).

“He’s so handsome.”

He was so quiet and just staring at us. Justin came up beside me and said “I want to meet him.”

After looking at everyone and yes, I held a sweet pup, we asked to meet Chuck Chuck.

The moment we got out into the meeting yard, they fell in love with each other. Hank had come up to me once during the meeting so mostly talked to the worker about Chuck Chuck’s story.

He has 2 different stories. 1, he was taken from an abusive home. 2, he was found on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Either way, we know that he had experienced trauma.

We said our goodbyes and held the promise that we would make our choice and return soon.

The reality was that we got in the car, Justin had begged to bring Chuck Chuck home and drove straight to Target because, in a few short hours, we were going to have a new family member.

The next morning I went to pick Chuck Chuck up.

I drove right to Justin’s work to let them spend the lunch hour together. In that same hour, we decided to call our new handsome boy, Hank.

And the rest is history!

Hank has been an absolute blessing in our lives. Our love for him grows with each passing day. Even though Hank needed about 6 months to warm up to me, he and Justin have been inseparable.

Nermington's Pet Boutique is based on a dog saving a human. It is built with the hope that no dog (or cat) is left behind. That saving an animal goes deeper than just adopting a pet because they don't have a home, it's giving someone (or something) a second chance at living their best life.