You know my story about being rescued as a frozen puppy and being loved and nurtured back to health. In fact, I had so much love and nurturing I not only survived but grew to about 80 pounds. Now that’s a whole lot of love.

But not many people know about my siblings who are also rescues, so I want to introduce you to them. Although some of them were picked up on the road, most of them came into my family because my dad, Van VanDeWalker, worked as an animal control officer.

He loved all animals that came into the pound. Only there were some that touched his heart so deeply he adopted them.

In all there are seven dogs and three cats. So these are my siblings.

First is Taters. She’s a tiny, 11-year old Westie mix who rules the roost. She was found at a Dumpster at a local store. She was wrestling with two other dogs for scraps of food.

My dad brought her home and was going to find her a family. But when the prospective mom came to get her, my dad couldn’t part with her. So she’s in our family and she’s the queen.

Then there’s Pickles, a 7-year-old black Labrador retriever. She was impounded by animal control as a baby. She and my dad had a special bond.

But there was that fateful day when her time at the pound had run out. My dad was instructed to bring her to the gas chamber, but he just couldn’t do it. So he adopted her.

Next is Buford, the 6-year old pit bull my dad found as a tiny puppy locked in a kennel covered in ants. My dad found the owner and had him sign him over. So he adopted him, too.

Then there’s Bailey, the 3-year-old Staffordshire who was abused as a little puppy. Her parents and siblings also were taken to the pound but did not survive. My mom fell in love with Bailey and adopted her.

Next is Bonnie, a 2-year-old black pit bull. She was turned in to the pound as a baby. She was supposed to be euthanized because they thought she was sick. But my parents thought she was malnourished, so they adopted her.

The last dog is Dumplin’, the 1-year old Boxer-Bulldog mix. He came into the shelter as a baby after wearing heavy logging chains. He looks a lot like me, so my parents adopted him.

Then my cat siblings are all adopted rescues as well. Murphy, Moo Moo and Millie. They’re all special members of my family.

We have a family full of adopted love. You can, too. Just contact any local rescue group.

Send questions to acpup247@yahoo.com. Visit www.acpup.com or see his Facebook page.