There are a few barriers right now holding us back from getting a dog but all pends on our application. Let’s start at the beginning.
I’ve been thinking about how wonderful it would be to get a dog of my own since about a year after Sparky passed away. He was such a good dog and a true joy to be around. James and I both loved how loyal he was and how well behaved he was. Sparky was beyond the puppy stage and we both loved how well he acted in the house and around people. We realized that an older dog truly was the way to go.
The problem at that time was that we were living in an apartment building that didn’t allow much more than fish or maybe a caged hamster. So we got a fish and a hamster. We moved again to an apartment in a house and were very hopeful we could bring a dog into our little family, but our landlord had a dog and she felt that two dogs in the house would be a bit much. She said “You can get a cat or two if you’d like though.”
Doesn’t really help when my loving husband is allergic!
Shortly after that we moved back in with my parents. We had an opportunity to get a puppy at this time, but my parents laid down the law “No dogs!” They didn’t want to get attached. The pain of Sparky’s passing was still too fresh in their minds so we held off.
I always had a series of goals in my life. College. Travel. Meet the man of my dreams and fall in love. Date for awhile. Move in together. Get Engaged. Get married. Get a house. Get a dog. Have kids. As you know, the man of my dreams and I just moved into our own house. We made sure to get a fenced in back yard for our little pooch that we both knew would be joining our family at some point.
Before moving though – I was introduced to the idea of an animal rescue. Many shelters in the US, and some in Canada, have a kill policy that if they don’t have space, they put the dogs down. They don’t even give them much of a chance even though they might be the perfect family pet. Many people in this area feel for this plight and have created rescue organizations to help take in these animals. Maybe the dogs and cats aren’t the cutest animals out there, but they have hearts and aren’t willing to be given up on yet.
Through looking at Rescues, I’ve become fond of a few in the Cambridge/Guelph/Hamilton area and I’ve frequently looked at their websites to see what dogs are available and if any interest me. Back in January I saw a picture of a shorter guy that was in need of rescue from a shelter. The Shelter had him listed as Kirby – border collie crossed with a bernese mountain dog. He had a cute bandana on and just looked really lovely. They needed a foster right away, but unfortunately we weren’t in the house yet. I kept him in the back of my mind as he was a solid dog, but short for being 5 years old.
They brought him to the Guelph area and the cute little guy was put into a foster-to-adopt situation with a family on a farm. They said he was a great dog and fantastic in the house. They renamed him Chance after giving him a second chance at a forever home. Also after looking at him, they realized there was no bernese mountain dog in him – and they figure due to his stature that he’s part corgi. So sweet and so well behaved, I was both sad and happy to see that the family fostering him wanted to adopt him.
The move happens and we get settled in without cable television – which means more time to be spent doing household stuff and more time on the computer. I started looking at dogs again. I had kind of stepped away from the shelters and was looking at puppies because they are incredibly cute when James reminded me that we didn’t want a puppy. Good point hubby!
After spending some time with two dogs at a family function, and realizing how quiet the house was, I think he started to warm up because he asked me what dogs I was looking at. I went online to check out www.barlees.org and saw that Chance (formerly Kirby) was available again. As the family fostering him has a farm, they would like to let him off his leash and poor little guy would wander away. Not so good when dealing with a vast property. He was probably getting lost and couldn’t find his house! So he was back up for adoption again. As soon as I showed James he thought that this could be a really good dog for us. He was older, settled, trained and really just looking for someone to love him.
Even still we went and looked at a few other dogs on www.petfinder.com and he found another dog that looked really close to Chance but was a female! He’s always said he liked poodle crosses so I was surprised that he was drawn to the border collie cross. Guess he loved Sparky as much as we all did!
We went out of the house and were talking a bit about stuff and he said “If I were picking, I’d choose Chance because he has an awesome name!” This started a bit of a debate as our friend named Chance might have issue with us naming a dog after him. But James assured me “If anyone wouldn’t mind, it would be Chance. He’d think it was fabulous!”
With only one question on whether or not the little guy was neutered, we decided to fill out an online application when it was confirmed that he was in fact an “it”. For some reason my computer was acting up and I had to reenter the information three times! Agonizing!
The next step involves them reviewing our application, seeing if we are a good fit and then calling us for any questions. If we pass that step - we get to meet our potential new pooch for a visit to the home of the foster parents. They want us to interact with him in his environment before bringing him home.
Once that is over, then comes the home visit. They may or may not bring Chance with them when they come but if they do and the visit goes well, he gets to stay with us on a trial adoption. These tend to last for two weeks and at that time we get to sign the full adoption papers.
So excited and so nervous and unsure. What if we didn't fill out the application they want us to? What if they call the vet and find out that they have no history on us? Even though the vet has worked with James' family dogs, they will not have any records with our names on them unfortunately.
James thinks I'm crazy telling people about the dog already as this may not end up being our dog. But I know that people were able to learn from our house search - maybe they can learn from our dog search.
Either way - I'm really looking forward to being doggie mom!
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