You always read or hear on commercials that you need to support your local animal shelter and "save a life". Until Friday I always that that was a wonderful thing for other people to do but the thought of adding another mouth, another thing to potty train and another needy soul to our already chaotic home just made me want to be sick. I have fought the urge to adopt a pet for several years now for the simple reason that "I didn't want to be responsible for anything else in my life". Now, some of you may call this lazy or selfish but I called it survival. I already knew that there were days I just barely took care of the duties I had and the idea that I would add more to that roster just didn't seem responsible or possible.
On Friday of last week something inside me popped. I don't know if it was the idea of spending so much time at home alone after dark or if it was the notion that I was lonely after the kids went to bed and needed someone who both wanted and needed me. I don't know what it was but for some reason when David mentioned finding directions to the local shelter, I didn't resist! I immediately sat down and looked up the Treasure Coast Animal Shelter and found directions. I also looked through the online pictures they had posted and almost felt excited at the thought of having a new little buddy in the house with me.
We loaded the kids up in the car and with the idea that we were just going to "look" and not buy we drove to the shelter. Once we arrived we were directed through a door and told to look around to see if there were any little friends we would be interested in seeing up close. Cage after cage we saw cute little faces and special little friends. Some jumped up to greet us at the gate while others just kinda held back as if to say, "why try, you either like me or you don't." We walked the rows looking at the information posted on each gate and discussing the breed and options with sizes and potential issues we could have.
At one point we found a dog named Checkers and really thought he was the one we wanted to bring home. We filled out his adoption papers and began the process only to find out that he was sick and not up for adoption. He was actually placed in there on accident. We were a little discouraged but the lady urged us to go back and look one more time. She also reminded us that they were always getting new dogs if we didn't find anything immediately that would be a good fit for our family. We walked the rows once more looking at the same faces we had confronted earlier until we turned the corner and there she was. Little Sara sat in her cage just looking at us with her big eyes while wagging her tail. We had not seen her earlier as she was out for her walk. We asked to take her to the "get to know you room" where she played ball with Jeffrey, kissed David on the arms, sniffed NJ and snuggled to my leg. We knew right then and there that she was the one who was supposed to be in our family. Checkers was simply the tool used to keep us there till she got back.
After filling out her papers and being released to take her home, we all sat in the car and were amazed that we had a dog, we were going home with the dog and the dog was awesome. The car ride home was wonderful. We stopped at the pet store to buy the necessities and then took our little princess home. Before we reached our front gate we had already renamed her to something a little more fitting for our family. We chose Molly Cane because Molly is just a great name and Cane is short for the Miami Hurricanes. She immediately became our family mascot, best friend, pet, sister, and daughter all in one.
Once we got home we unloaded all of her goodies and took her into her new home. She walked through as if she were just coming in from vacation. It was like she knew where everything was and had not just entered this dwelling for the first time. We were amazed. We set her things up in our family favorite room (the kitchen) and gave her a corner all to herself.
It has now been 4 days that this sweet, precious animal has lived with us. We are all slowly beginning to learn what makes each other tick and we are learning the quirks that we each have. She is learning to follow commands the way I give them and I am learning to adapt my commands to what she seems to already know. The boys are learning how to love on a dog without hurting it and Jeffrey is taking over the responsibility of feeding her. It is amazing to see how our family joined together to welcome this little friend into our world. I do see that we "saved her life" however, I feel that is all too cliche. I honestly feel like she entered our world, showed us how to love in a different manner, opened our hearts up to another life and in turn, saved our lives. I feel so much safer when David is not home and the loneliness has disappeared as I now have someone to hear noises with and watch late night TV with. I feel so blessed to be the adoptive mommy to such a wonderful dog. She not only brings light and joy into our home, she also brings a feeling of peace and love into our hearts. Thank you Molly Cane for being the best dog for our family.
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