A Dog Tale

Over a year and a half ago when Flynn and I started dated he mentioned how much he wanted a dog. Every time we passed a dog on the street he'd say, "I want a dog." It wasn't practical at the time though and luckily he is a patient guy, so he waited. When we took our vacation together last August (holy moly that was almost a year ago already!) we talked about getting a dog together. We talked about breeds, names, training styles etc. Even with us both living in Seattle the time wasn't right. So even though he still said, "I want a dog" every time we passed on street we waited until it was right.

After moving in together in February we could finally start seriously planning for our dog! I called around to as many Boston Terrier breeders in the Northwest as I could find. I made list after list of available dogs, prices, and recommendations. Flynn and I decided that since I would be home most of the summer that it would be a good time to get a dog then so that I could train it and get it comfortable in our home. So we waited.

In April, with school ending I made another round of phone calls to see who still had puppies. We found a sweet little girl puppy and made plans to meet her the last week of April. Flynn and I were crushed when, after an hour of cuddling with the puppy, the owner told us she could not sell her to us. She was extremely attached to the puppy and did not want to even talk about discussing negotiating the puppy's price. We were super disappointed to have to drive home with an empty crate.

The next week Flynn got his wisdom teeth taken out. The poor guy was not a happy camper. He's pretty cute when he's all puffy though! We then had to postpone the puppy hunt for various trips. First Flynn and I flew to South Bend, IN for his brother's graduation from Notre Dame. From there we drove his brother's car back home to Seattle. We had fun! We got to go to several new states and check out some amazing sites.

Five days after getting back from our road trip Flynn took off on a two week work trip to Taipei and Tokyo. I was pretty jealous. He saw and did some cool stuff, worked hard, and came home tired. He didn't get to rest for very long though. One week after getting back from Asia he had to pack up and head off to Washington, DC for another work trip.

Finally home from all his trips we could return our focus on a puppy! I got my lists of breeders back out and started making phone calls again. After a couple hours of calling and searching online I got a call from a breeder who had a show dog that she couldn't show (he has some imperfections). Flynn and I made plans to meet the lady and her dog on Friday on our way to the beach for a weekend away. While on the road I called the lady to get directions, but she was on her way to the hospital. Her dad has been ill and she needed to take care of him and her mom. Of course, family first, so we made plans to meet her and the dog on Sunday on our way home from the beach. Again, we hit the road and call the lady, but she didn't answer her phone. Her voicemail box was full so I couldn't leave a message. I emailed her and continued to call her for three hours while we waited near where she lived, but she never responded. So we drove home again with an empty crate. I was super bummed and frustrated.

I emailed the owner when we got home and she responded apologetically. She said her father was still in the hospital and couldn't meet us. She said she would be in touch in a few days to try to set up another time to meet. (That was a week ago and I haven't heard back from her.)

From there I took a few days off the pet search. So far it hadn't been anything but frustration. Oh! Did I mention that Flynn and I had gone to the pet store and bought EVERYTHING we need for our puppy? So we've had a bag of food, toys, a bed, and dishes sitting in our apartment just waiting to be used for weeks and weeks now!

We have been looking at Petfinder.com from time to time, but I was dead set on a pure bred Boston Terrier so I didn't take it too seriously. While doing a search online we came across an adorable Boston/Spaniel mix in Washington and contacted the rescue group to start the adoption process. The rescue group emailed me and asked me a few basic questions.

1. What are the working hours of the adults in the home?

2. Where would you keep a dog or puppy while you were gone for several hours?

3. Do you have a fenced yard and is it secure

4. Ages of people in your home

5. Do you have another dog and if so what kind and gender of dog

Pretty general questions, right? I thought so. So we answered honestly and with some detail. This was the response we got:

I am sorry but I cannot adopt a puppy to you for several reasons...

You REALLY need to look at an adult dog instead. The times you are gone and leaving a puppy in a crate would be very difficult and cruel on a puppy. You don't have a fenced yard so there is no protection from the puppy getting out where other dogs have been and contacting Parvo.

Please understand and don't get a pup....as now is not the right time.

Seriously!! What?! I think she must have misunderstood when I said I worked at 6a and 7p. She must have thought I work from 6a to 7p. That is the only way she could think that putting a puppy in a crate would be cruel. I spoke with a local trainer and worked with Flynn to draft a response to her concerns. I'll admit she really hurt my feedings! I know I shouldn't have taken it personally, but she is saying that I would be cruel to an animal! For her to come to that conclusion without even speaking to me (so far we've only emailed) is just dumb. Erg. So now it's been 24 hours since I sent off my response and I'm trying to be patient. I really want her to take the time to reconsider and give us an opportunity to at least fill out the adoption application.

Flynn and I would give that little puppy an excellent home and it bums me out that this rescue lady is getting in the way. I know she is doing what she feels is right, but still.

So now we are waiting. I'm still looking at pups on petfinder. This whole thing has taken a lot longer than I thought it would. It'll last a while longer. I'll keep you posted. Also, I'll have puppy pictures whenever we get that far.

On a completely unrelated note, I just received an email that says that my application for a teaching certificate has finally been accepted! My teaching certificate should be here in a few weeks! Yay! It's a relief to have that hurdle behind me! Now onward to the teaching job, though I don't have any teaching prospects on the horizon other than substituting.