We’re not expecting a baby, silly! Stop jumping to conclusions! We’re actually expecting a new puppy, and we’re both thrilled and ready for a new adventure.
I’ve poured my heart out about the loss of Brennan on this blog, and you all know how much we miss him (and will always miss him). He was one-of-a-kind and we were so blessed to have him in our lives for six years. After Brennan passed, a lady in my office began sending me e-mails from a local non-profit that rescues dogs before they are euthanized at local shelters. For about a month now, I have been forwarding David these e-mails that contain the saddest stories and sweetest photos of some of these dogs. And, for about a month now, David has been ignoring my e-mails, sometimes even responding to the sad stories with “what do you want to do for dinner?” or some other off-topic response.
Finn was different. I sent him the first e-mail that went out about her and he did not respond. Then, last Thursday, a second e-mail came out saying that the rescue organization thought it had found a new home for Finn, but it fell through. I forwarded this e-mail on to David, and he actually mentioned Finn to me, by name, on Thursday evening. That’s when I knew we had a winner. We did not know much about her except what she looks like and that she’s house trained and crate trained. That’s definitely a good start, so, with David’s agreement in hand, I e-mailed the lady that runs the rescue organization.
Obviously, these people are interested in the well-being of the animals that they rescue. Obviously, I respect what these people do because I know just how wonderful shelter dogs can be. However, I cannot believe how insecure the adoption process made me. In my prior life in private practice, I worked on adoptions. I have heard stories from adoptive parents about how stressful it is to put yourself out there to get picked by a birth mother. I realize that doggy adoption is not quite so serious, but I think this process was definitely analogous.
When I expressed our interest in the e-mail, all of the e-mails were very friendly and one included an adoption application. The application was three pages, single spaced, and included relevant questions like where the dog would sleep (inside or outside), if we have ever adopted an animal before, if we were willing to accept responsibility for the care of an animal for 10 years or more, etc., etc. By the time I finished filling out the application, my confidence in my doggy mommy ability was waning. A week ago, I would have told you that we are wonderful dog parents; however, after filling out the application, I asked myself more than once if I was really cut out for this dog parenting thing. Again, I understand why these people take their placements seriously; I have visited a shelter one time in my life (when we adopted Brennan), and these people visit them all the time. They don’t want these pets to end up there again. I understand this, but I was still surprised by the detail. They even asked for a vet reference and called our vet, who "enthusiastically" recommended us as dog owners (of course they did - we visited that office almost every week for the first three months of the year, how much more enthusiastic can you get?).
On Monday afternoon, Finn and her foster mom came to our house for a home visit. At my insistence, we meticulously cleaned the house before the visit. I was pacing waiting for them to arrive. I knew she was a cute dog, but when she got out of the car, I could not believe how pretty she was. She was bigger than she looked in her pictures. She’s around a year old and about 43 pounds. She’s all sweet, wonderful puppy, but she’s getting close to adulthood, so she's more manageable than a puppy. She checked out the house for a while we chatted with the foster mom and her friend who had come along for the visit. They were friendly young women, and the visit was much more relaxed than I expected. The foster mom saw some of our Texas A&M stuff in the house, and said she was an A&M grad, too. I think that definitely scored us some points. Finn checked out all the rooms, the patio, and closely watched some of the golfers on the course that faces our patio. She did not bark once, which surprised me because so much was going on outside. About thirty minutes into the visit, she fell asleep on the sofa while we were talking. I doubt this is true, but it seemed like she was comfortable with us.
During the visit, the foster mom told us that another family was interested in and wanted to meet Finn this week. I was disappointed to hear that, but then she followed it up with, “if you guys want to adopt her, I think you are a great match, so I will tell the other family she’s already been adopted.” Music to my ears! We told the foster mom that we wanted to talk for a while after she left and that we’d give her a call later that day. We talked, and I ended up calling her within an hour after she left to say we wanted to adopt Finn. She generously agreed to keep Finn until next Tuesday, June 2nd, when we get back from our trip to San Diego. I am really excited about our vacation, and now I have something to look forward to upon our return to Fort Worth.
David sat by quietly listening to all of the conversation and petting Finn. He did not say much, but that’s not unusual for him. I asked him a couple of times if he was excited, and he answered with an unconvincing “yes.” However, I finally knew he was excited when he asked me if I thought Finn would be ready to do a trail run with him on June 6th.
Here are some of our first photos of Finn. The foster mom said she’s an Australian Kelpie mix. Never heard of that? Me either. I Googled it, and it is basically the Australian version of a border collie. The Google search also revealed that this breed is a great match for distance runners because they have incredible stamina. I knew she was waiting for us!
I’ve poured my heart out about the loss of Brennan on this blog, and you all know how much we miss him (and will always miss him). He was one-of-a-kind and we were so blessed to have him in our lives for six years. After Brennan passed, a lady in my office began sending me e-mails from a local non-profit that rescues dogs before they are euthanized at local shelters. For about a month now, I have been forwarding David these e-mails that contain the saddest stories and sweetest photos of some of these dogs. And, for about a month now, David has been ignoring my e-mails, sometimes even responding to the sad stories with “what do you want to do for dinner?” or some other off-topic response.
Finn was different. I sent him the first e-mail that went out about her and he did not respond. Then, last Thursday, a second e-mail came out saying that the rescue organization thought it had found a new home for Finn, but it fell through. I forwarded this e-mail on to David, and he actually mentioned Finn to me, by name, on Thursday evening. That’s when I knew we had a winner. We did not know much about her except what she looks like and that she’s house trained and crate trained. That’s definitely a good start, so, with David’s agreement in hand, I e-mailed the lady that runs the rescue organization.
Obviously, these people are interested in the well-being of the animals that they rescue. Obviously, I respect what these people do because I know just how wonderful shelter dogs can be. However, I cannot believe how insecure the adoption process made me. In my prior life in private practice, I worked on adoptions. I have heard stories from adoptive parents about how stressful it is to put yourself out there to get picked by a birth mother. I realize that doggy adoption is not quite so serious, but I think this process was definitely analogous.
When I expressed our interest in the e-mail, all of the e-mails were very friendly and one included an adoption application. The application was three pages, single spaced, and included relevant questions like where the dog would sleep (inside or outside), if we have ever adopted an animal before, if we were willing to accept responsibility for the care of an animal for 10 years or more, etc., etc. By the time I finished filling out the application, my confidence in my doggy mommy ability was waning. A week ago, I would have told you that we are wonderful dog parents; however, after filling out the application, I asked myself more than once if I was really cut out for this dog parenting thing. Again, I understand why these people take their placements seriously; I have visited a shelter one time in my life (when we adopted Brennan), and these people visit them all the time. They don’t want these pets to end up there again. I understand this, but I was still surprised by the detail. They even asked for a vet reference and called our vet, who "enthusiastically" recommended us as dog owners (of course they did - we visited that office almost every week for the first three months of the year, how much more enthusiastic can you get?).
On Monday afternoon, Finn and her foster mom came to our house for a home visit. At my insistence, we meticulously cleaned the house before the visit. I was pacing waiting for them to arrive. I knew she was a cute dog, but when she got out of the car, I could not believe how pretty she was. She was bigger than she looked in her pictures. She’s around a year old and about 43 pounds. She’s all sweet, wonderful puppy, but she’s getting close to adulthood, so she's more manageable than a puppy. She checked out the house for a while we chatted with the foster mom and her friend who had come along for the visit. They were friendly young women, and the visit was much more relaxed than I expected. The foster mom saw some of our Texas A&M stuff in the house, and said she was an A&M grad, too. I think that definitely scored us some points. Finn checked out all the rooms, the patio, and closely watched some of the golfers on the course that faces our patio. She did not bark once, which surprised me because so much was going on outside. About thirty minutes into the visit, she fell asleep on the sofa while we were talking. I doubt this is true, but it seemed like she was comfortable with us.
During the visit, the foster mom told us that another family was interested in and wanted to meet Finn this week. I was disappointed to hear that, but then she followed it up with, “if you guys want to adopt her, I think you are a great match, so I will tell the other family she’s already been adopted.” Music to my ears! We told the foster mom that we wanted to talk for a while after she left and that we’d give her a call later that day. We talked, and I ended up calling her within an hour after she left to say we wanted to adopt Finn. She generously agreed to keep Finn until next Tuesday, June 2nd, when we get back from our trip to San Diego. I am really excited about our vacation, and now I have something to look forward to upon our return to Fort Worth.
David sat by quietly listening to all of the conversation and petting Finn. He did not say much, but that’s not unusual for him. I asked him a couple of times if he was excited, and he answered with an unconvincing “yes.” However, I finally knew he was excited when he asked me if I thought Finn would be ready to do a trail run with him on June 6th.
Here are some of our first photos of Finn. The foster mom said she’s an Australian Kelpie mix. Never heard of that? Me either. I Googled it, and it is basically the Australian version of a border collie. The Google search also revealed that this breed is a great match for distance runners because they have incredible stamina. I knew she was waiting for us!
Hot dog!
ReplyDeleteGenevieve and I often talk of getting a dog in the future, so we are excited (and a tad jealous) that you guys found Finn. Here's to many happy years with Finn!
She's adorable---can't wait to meet her!
ReplyDeleteYAY! I think I love her already! She's smiling in these pics :)
ReplyDelete