As long as I can remember, I've been a "dog" person. I grew up asking for a puppy, but after the Bob Dog debacle when I was a kid, that wasn't ever going to happen as long as I was living under my parents' roof.
Long story short: my brother, sister, and I were probably all under the age of 10 when my parents agreed to watch their friend's dog named Bob (my dad's name). We were too young to take any real responsibility of the dog (plus it ran away once, causing my dad to go out and call his own name while looking for the trouble-maker) so that became the reason we couldn't get a dog, even after my sister went so far as to give my parents an ultimatum:
"You either need to get us a dog, a baby, or a trampoline."
We got none of the above. But she tried.
So growing up, I had to settle for smaller, easier-to-take-care-of pets. We had a huge fish tank with a rotating cast of fish, and also there was Hampy the golden hamster, Taz and Tiger the dwarf hamsters, Cocoa the dwarf rabbit (we liked miniature animals, apparently) Jake the piranha (inherited from an ex-boyfriend), a gecko (inherited from the ex-boyfriend's female "friend" (yeah right)), and another hamster (inherited from a high school friend).
But since I've always wanted a dog, the moment I could get one I started research on petfinder.com (which consisted of aawing at all the adorable puppies).
I had made up my mind that I didn't want a puppy for my first dog because I didn't want to deal with the chewing and potty training, and I picked breeds that didn't shed - an akita, poodle, or bichon frise. I also wanted a female so I didn't have to deal with the "marking" business.
I went to a few different shelters after finding a dog matching my criteria on petfinder, but apparently PetFinder doesn't update their website too often, as the dog was usually either long gone or spoken for when I got to the shelter. And the other ones were either too young, too old, too big, etc.
Then I paid a visit to the Toledo Humane Society when I was free one day and clanked open the door to the dog room only to be met with barking, howling, and general ruckus.
After passing by adorable puppies, older dogs, and a frightened-looking pup in a corner, I came upon a calm black-and-brown dog who wasn't barking or cowering, but just looking up at me with the darkest brown eyes. I glanced up and saw this dog, whose name was Chloe, was a "Shepherd mix, about 2 years old. Spayed."
Well this dog fits the age range, I thought to myself. And she's really cute with an adorable name, and is already fixed.
So I asked to take her outside - even though the employee there at the time, an older woman, was extremely rude and acted like I was bothering her by asking questions. Chloe dragged me out to the back and paid absolutely no attention to me whatsoever, something drew me to her. I think it was clinched when I was told "Chloe just needs someone to love her."
I could totally be that person.
So I called Brent and told him about this dog I found and asked if I could take him to meet her on his lunch break from work. He agreed, and the first thing he said when he saw her was, "I didn't think she'd be that big." But I told him how old she was, and that she was full-grown and I thought she was "the dog."
He gave me the go-ahead, and after paying the $65 adoption/registration fees - and trying to be patient with the same rude woman who was irritated that I was asking what kind of food they'd been feeding her so I wouldn't shock her system - I took Chloe home to love.
Stay tuned for Part Two: Winging It As A First-Time Pup Mom
No comments:
Post a Comment