IM体育

It鈥檚 a rare and special thing when a coworker becomes like family. It鈥檚 rarer still when a coworker helps you add to your family.

That鈥檚 just what Alicia Decker did for Sarah Rapelje recently, when she introduced Sarah to Dotty, a rescue puppy she was fostering.

鈥淚 foster dogs through Rocky Mountain Puppy Rescue, and most of the puppies are adopted quickly,鈥� said Decker, MRO Group Category Manager in Procurement at IM体育鈥檚 Word Headquarters in Denver, CO.

But not Dotty. After arriving from a high-kill shelter in New Mexico, 5-month-old Dotty slowly settled into life outside the shelter.

鈥淪he was so timid and scared. It took her days to feel comfortable leaving her kennel at my house. Because she was so obviously scared, people were passing her at the adoption events,鈥� Decker said.

So, Decker pulled out all the stops and began sharing Dotty鈥檚 story and photos during work calls in hopes of finding her the perfect forever home.

That鈥檚 when everything changed for Dotty; it was love at first sight for Rapelje, Physical Distribution Manager for the John鈥檚 Manville Waterville complex in Ohio.

鈥淪arah immediately fell in love with her, but said she needed to think about taking on a new dog,鈥� Decker recounted. 鈥淚 would text her videos of Dotty and had co-workers put up pictures of her in Sarah鈥檚 office until it wore her down and she agreed to adopt her!鈥�

Rapelje added, 鈥淢y husband had been a 鈥榟ard no鈥� on adopting a new puppy, but when I shared Dotty鈥檚 picture he said, 鈥榞o for it.鈥欌��

Then began the work to coordinate Dotty鈥檚 move to Waterville to live with her new family. Rapelje and Decker investigated airline travel and even if Dotty could hitch a ride with another IM体育 employee who might be traveling to Waterville from Colorado for work, but nothing panned out.

The pair instead decided to meet halfway in Nebraska, to get Dotty, now seven months old, home to Ohio.

But the weather threatened to interfere with their plans.

鈥淎bout an hour outside of Omaha, a tornado came through and we each had to protect our families,鈥� Decker said. 鈥淢y kids and I were far enough behind it that we mostly dealt with road closures due to debris and flooding. Poor Sarah had to leave her car and evacuate to the basement of a local Harley Davidson store.鈥�

Rapelje said, 鈥淚t was totally worth it. Dotty is settling in great and is enjoying life in the country. She enjoys hanging out in the yard, going for rides and playing with our other dog and two cats.鈥�

She continued, 鈥淪he is super smart and wants to be near us which has made boundary training easy.鈥疭he鈥檚 the first dog that we鈥檝e had that came trained to come when called, so I鈥檓 super thankful to Alicia for all the training and good manners she instilled. (Dotty鈥檚) puppy energy has been a jolt to our life and keeps us on our toes, but we wouldn鈥檛 have it any other way.鈥�

Decker, too, says the experience is one she鈥檒l forever be grateful for.

鈥淢y boys and I will miss our sweet Dotty, but we are happy she is with a JM family where I can still watch her grow up,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 know Sarah and her husband will give Dotty the best life! They already send me videos and pictures of her playing in the yard and getting acquainted with Sarah鈥檚 other fur babies.鈥�

And in case anyone is interested, Decker added, 鈥淢y family will continue to foster dogs so if anyone else in JM wants a dog or puppy, I鈥檓 happy to connect you and be the JM dog supplier!鈥�