KPIX 5 Jennifer Mistrot And Shorty

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- We met Shorty by accident. I had never heard of the breed before -- rat terrier.

My brother-in-law said it would be the perfect dog for my husband and me, so he filled out an on-line application for a rat terrier rescue on our behalf. We got leads on a dozen dogs at least. But my husband accidentally deleted every email we received about every dog except one -- Shorty.

Our first Shorty sighting was in his foster mom's front yard. Shorty was 'walking' his foster brother around by dragging the other pup's leash.

He was really cute, and sweet. Still, I was hesitant to take him home. We were newly married, and had just bought a house, and the additional responsibility seemed like a lot.

I'll never forget what my husband Chris said when I voiced my concerns out loud, "He's just a little guy. How hard could it be? If we move, we'll just scoop him up and take him with us."

That was 2003 and we did just that: we scooped up the best dog we have ever had, and along the way we rescued 4 more. Three are gone now, including Shorty, who died just this year. But as Shorty's mom forever- there are two things I know for sure. As long as I am able I will always have dogs, and those dogs will always be rescues.