Luke and Kari Powers

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When Replacements, Ltd. Showroom Sales Associate Kari Powers and her husband decided they wanted a beagle puppy in January 2008, young “Luke” fit the bill. But a year later, full-grown Luke proved to be more dog than Kari had expected – he weighs 46 pounds!

“My husband always wanted a beagle,” Kari says. “And that was fine with me, because what I was interested in was a small dog. Small for me, though, was like a ‘purse’ dog!”

Kari and her husband checked local animal shelters and the Greensboro Humane Society, but they weren’t successful in finding a puppy. Then they tried the internet. They located a beagle mix in Taylorsville, NC, but the morning they were scheduled to pick up the puppy, they telephoned before leaving home, only to discover that the puppy had already been adopted. “We decided maybe that wasn’t the dog we were supposed to have,” Kari says.

Then Kari called the Humane Society in Eden, NC. They had just received a male beagle-mix puppy. Kari asked the society to hold the pup. She and her husband picked up their daughters after school, told them they would soon see a surprise, and started driving. When they arrived at the Eden Humane Society, they saw four adorable puppies in the outside kennels.

“Our girls were thrilled,” Kari says. “But we didn’t see a beagle puppy. My husband and I were worried that we had missed another chance. But when we followed the lady who ran the shelter inside,” Kari says, “She brought out the most precious puppy we had ever seen!” The shelter had named the eight-week-old male, “Buck.” As soon as he snuggled in Kari’s husband’s arms, however, he was renamed “Luke.”

“Luke is a ‘beagador,’ a beagle-Lab mix,” Kari says. “He was the puppy we’d been looking for! He’s an easygoing dog and knows no stranger, man or beast. He loves to ride in the car, and especially enjoys the drive-thru. French fries are his favorite,” Kari says.

“Luke really enjoys coming to work with me,” Kari says. “He loves the attention he gets from employees and customers. It’s a great change of pace for everyone. Replacements, Ltd. is an excellent place to work. Not only do we have discontinued china, crystal, flatware, and collectibles, we also have something you won’t find at a lot of companies today – a true sense of concern for the well-being of employees. Replacements, Ltd. puts as high a priority on the needs of our families and our pets as we do. It’s much appreciated!”

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