Bonjour, mes amis!

My name is Leila and I am a 4-ish year-old French-Canadian Newfoundland. I weigh about 142lbs (65kg) and am mostly black with a white blaze on my chest. (My mom says it's there because I had so much love to give and no one to give it to that it burned like a fire and came out on my chest.)

I grew up in Montreal but now I live with my foever Mommy and Daddy near Boston, in someplace called Massachusetts. I brought my Pablo with me to my new home because he's a big goof and probably couldn't find his way out of a box, let alone Montreal. I've always kept an eye on him and have to make sure that he's always ok. Always. He's about 2 years-old and a Landseer Newfoundland, but he acts like he's about 3 months old. I have a new brother and sister here too. They're kitties named Mr. Peepers and Ms. Chu. They're ok, but Mom gets mad when I chase them. It's their own fault though, 'cause they run. What's a girl supposed to do? Dad says we need to work on that some more...

My start wasn't so good. My first Mommy and Daddy didn't want me and my Pablo after a while. We were left in the backyard, even through the cold, Canadian winter. We don't know why we were left out there because we're usually very good. Some nice person noticed that we were out there for a very long time. She saw that no one loved us and that we were dirty, matted, hungry and all alone. We were so scared and heartbroken. What did we do? Someone finally came and took us away. We got really lucky because a nice lady took us in and hugged us, kissed us, washed us and fed us. But we were so dirty that they had to shave off our warm coats. My new Mommy says that I was so matted that I had stiff wings that went out 7 inches from my neck. I kinda looked like an elephant.

After that, me and my Pablo went to live with the bestest Foster Mommy and Daddy, EVER. They took us in and we lived with them and our foster siblings, Boo and Jemma. Me and Jemma didn't get along too good. But Pablo loved them and foster Mom and Dad told me that I had to be nice. I tried my hardest. It took a little time, but I learned that not all people are bad and that it was ok to trust them.

A few months later, we were on our way to Boston. It took us 7 hours from Montreal, but we made it! It took me a long while to warm up to my new Mom and Dad. I was afraid that they wouldn't want us, like last time. But they're pretty nice and they give me all the tomatoes and cucumbers I can eat, right from the vine! Sometimes I get chicken jerky but the doctor says I need to lose a little weight, so Mom's a little stingy with the supertasty treats. Sometimes, I have to steal some. My life is pretty good now. Mom and Dad love me very much and don't mind when I do nudgies to get what I want. I show a little belly and it gets rubbed right away. They get a little mad when I chase other dogs (I took Mom for a few rides down the street, she even lost her pants once), but as Dad says, "We're working on it." Mom says she's just glad that I go after 'entree' sized dogs because that way, they have a chance of defending themselves against a tank like me. Like Dad said, "We're working on it."

Thank you all for voting for me. For most of my life, I never felt special because something special shouldn't get thrown away. And I was thrown away. But now I know I'm very special, because my Mom and Dad tell me so, everyday.

Nudgies and Kisses,
Leila