It's Puppy Time!

For Mother's Day, our family did the unthinkable, the unimaginable.  That's right.  We adopted a puppy!!  We have had a puppyless family for more than 20 years--not beccause we don't love dogs, but because we haven't had the time for them.  With my mom, hubby, and I working full-time, our attention was placed on finding after-school activities and camp to keep Little Lewie supervised; we didn't have the time or money to have to worry about activities for a pet, too.

The first few weeks of the pandemic, hubby and my mom started to have "side conversations" about getting a dog.  Before speaking with me, they worked out a schedule where (when we return back to normal), he would stay home with the dog in the mornings, and my mom would be home for Little Lewie and the dog in the early afternoon.  I was chopped out of the conversation because well, quite honestly, during the week, I'm always at work, sometimes not coming home until 9 p.m. at night.

When I was finally included in this conversation, I brushed off the idea.  We're a traveling family.  We like to go places and do things--we don't want the extra worry of "what do we do with Fido?"  But, as I started to think about it some more, I realized that Fido could come with me for walks (which would make me feel safer), and Fido could be home with my mom to keep her company when we travel.  Plus, wouldn't Little Lewie enjoy growing up with a family dog?

Once I started my search on Petfinder, I was hooked.  I quickly formed a list of all of my favorite dogs, and just as quickly as I was adding these precious pups to my list, they were being removed from the site.  It was clear that everyone was/is deciding to adopt pets during the pandemic.  Only the doggies with the health problems were sticking around, and I was getting way too emotional as I read their stories. I wanted to find a good home for all of them!!  The adoption process--filling out the long applications, not hearing back, or hearing we were "second" on the list--was taking an emotional toll.

As we told more and more people about how we wanted to adopt a puppy or a young dog, we started getting "inside" information about how we could get to the top of the list.  As it turned out, a place in New Milford, CT, http://www.because4paws.org/, was bringing in lots of rescue pups from down South all the time.  My sister-in-law knew a "foster mom" for one of the puppies, and my work colleague knew someone that volunteered there.   We were encouraged to fill out an application, and within four days, we received news that we were pre-approved.  That same day, an email blast was sent out saying approximately 30+ puppies were arriving in Connecticut that Saturday (May 9th).  They sent pictures, and we'd have to call (first-come, first serve) to put a deposit on a dog right away.  Our hearts were focused on these two pics:

My husband's first pick was little Reisling (above), but we soon learned that because she was part Shar-pei and Austrailian Shepard, she would be a handful and not necessarily an easy-going family dog.  We then focused on the Lab mixes from Sulpher Springs, TX.  By the time we received a call-back from our voicemail, there was only Pat Benetar and Bruce Dickenson left.  We quickly swiped up Bruce and felt lucky he hadn't been taken yet.  The meet-and-greet would be that very same Saturday, right before Mother's Day.

Saturday, May 9th felt more like Feb. 9th.  It was cold and windy (in the 30's most of the day), and there were sun showers, except instead of rain, sleet and hail came down while the sun would peak out from between the clouds.  Everyone commented on how weird the weather was...  With our masks, we were asked to stand outside in a caged in area while they brought Bruce to us.  I volunteered to hold him and place him inside my coat as they forewarned us that having come from Texas, he wouldn't be used to this freezing weather.  They handed me this shivering 8-week old pup, and he looked at me with his big brown eyes and gave me a few doggy kisses right on the nose.

I was enamored.  The rest of the meet-and-greet--the adoption paperwork, the visit inside the facility (with masks), and the car-ride home--were a blur.  The rest of the day, the next day, and the week, now have been about helping this little peanut get acclimated to his new home while learning the boundaries...   Welcome to the family, Bruce!!   You sure are a handful, but we're so glad you're now part of our pack!!