On Thursday, we got one.
He is cute and sweet, a three-year-old miniature dachshund [Doxie, with love]. He instantly attached himself to Jake. He is house-broken and likes walks. He doesn't really play with toys and has only had one treat [not because we haven't tried to give him more]. He sleeps through the night, almost. He is tender and affectionate. His name is Noonan.
We took him back today.
While driving Jake to work at Depaul on Friday [yesterday, and the day after we got Noonan], I looked over a Jake and said, "I don't know if I'm ready for a dog." I was relieved when he said something similar. Four walks a day out to the park, a nearly two-year-old, not being able to come and go as we please...Life with a dog is not the same as we knew growing up when we had a yard. We'd made up our minds that there was a better family out there for Noonan. And I'm glad because Friday night, he started showing signs of jealousy towards Cora - he had previously done the same thing with cats [he'd been adopted and returned once before]. Jake and Cora were singing at the table, Noonan was watching from the couch, and then he came over and started barking and jumping up at her. He snapped at her a few times as well - granted, there was food a toy involved. He will make a great pet for a family with older kids, or an established couple who can love on him and him alone. It was hard to leave him, I did it alone, well, with Cora. I know he will find a good home.
We adopted him from PAWS [Pets Are Worth Saving], which is an AMAZING example of a humane shelter. None of the animals stay in cages. They have a room and toys and go on several walks throughout the day. They adopt 50-70% of their pets each week, and bring in new ones every morning. The adoption fee is one of the cheapest, and $75 of it is returned if you complete an obedience course. Every pet goes through a Foster-to-Adopt program. You have the animal for up to two weeks to see how they do in your home and with your family before the adoption is final. If, for any reason, something doesn't work out, you can bring them back and receive a full refund with-in the two weeks. It takes the pressure off, and allows for what's best for the dog/cat. If you have a soft spot for dogs and cats, you can donate to this organization. It's money well spent. When Jake gets his schedule for next quarter, I want to volunteer there one day of the week.
NoonanIn the end, we were thinking that we wanted to give a nice home and a lot of love to a dog. Now is simply not the right time for us.
PS: Noonan wasn't sad when we left him. He knows everyone at PAWS and everyone knows him! He was so happy to see everyone again. We didn't actually have to leave him. An employee came and got him from us [someone we knew from when we picked him up] while I was filling out a little bit of paperwork. He was already ready to see whoever his new family will be by the time we left. I wouldn't have been able to handle it any other way. And it's Saturday. PAWS was packed with potential adopters.
Yeah, we had our first dog for three days! They are lots of work and you have to be willing to commit to them. It's like having a kid. What a neat foundation!
ReplyDeletehaving a dog is like having another child. we got bergeeta when she was 7 weeks..she'll be SEVEN in march! she has been a lot of work but we got her 2 years before we had kids and joe worked for his dad in construction so bergie got to go with him...
ReplyDeleteyou do have to wait for the right time and then pets will fill your home and heart with a bunch of love! good for you for recognizing you weren't ready instead of trying to make it work and not liking it!! i love ya and miss ya!