Recently, we had the chance to speak to Tampa Bay Buccaneers Wide Receiver, Chris Godwin. And we took the time to ask about his dog adoption story, as well as which dog breed he thinks he would be.
While speaking to Godwin about the Shelter Draft 2023 fundraising initiative and his Team Godwin Foundation, we wanted to know more about his own adoption story. After all, he and his wife already had a dog when they met their rescue pup, Ziggy.
Having seen a bit about his adoption story on his Foundation’s Our Family Story page, we had an idea about what it was like for Chris Godwin and his wife, Mariah, to bring home a rescue dog, especially as parents to a dog purchased from a pet store. But when we had the chance to speak with him, we wanted to know what it was like to meet Ziggy for the first time (before she was Ziggy).
Chris Godwin talks about meeting Ziggy for the first time
So what did Godwin have to say about what it was like to meet Ziggy for the first time?
"It was kind of surreal, because we had one dog, Ghost, already. And then we were looking for getting like a sibling for him. He’s a Husky mixed with a Pomeranian, so he has a ton of energy, and he’s very vocal. So really, we have to find a dog that can match his energy level.And we’ve always kind of had this affinity for Pits. We just think that they look very cool. But again, they’re also very, very loyal, and every one that we’ve ever come across has always been, really well behaved. And my wife Mariah was volunteering at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. She did everything with like, intakes and kind of like the logistics side, but she also got the chance to work with with some of their dogs and things like that. And she was telling me after being there for a couple of times that one of the dogs that they were using basically to observe the personality of new intakes. Ziggy, I think her name was Leila at the shelter, but she [Mariah] was like, you have to come see this dog play. It’s like the sweetest dog, she gets along with every dog that they bring in. And I’m like, this could be it.And then we go in and obviously like, you know, a lot of dogs in shelters they have like the shelter presence. So sometimes they can be a bit wary of people, of new people coming in and stuff like that. And she was a bit shy, but you can tell that she was really, really sweet. And so we brought our dog Ghost to have like a little play date, and see how they were kind of collaborating. And it was a match for us. And every day since then it’s been nothing but amazing things and you know, we are really grateful to have her in our family."
And of course, if there is one question we love to ask everyone we interview for Dog O’Day, it is what breed of dog would you be and why. According to Chris Godwin,
"We have two dogs right, and Ziggy is our Pit and it’s almost as if they both kind of mirror me and my wife’s respective personalities. And Ziggy is almost spot on like me. You know, when I’m not playing football I love being comfy. Like I love sitting on a couch. I love just like wherever I’m at, I’m gonna be in the most comfortable position and she’s like that to a tee. And she’s really athletic. And then she just like calms down and is very loving. So I think I would be a Pitbull."
To learn more about Chris Godwin and his animal advocacy, check out the rest of our interview with him: