When fate kicks you in the face...

I'm crying right now, so I apologize if this is nonsensical.

Two weeks ago, I stopped by the Humane Society on my way home from work. Got off early, figured I'd stop in. I've always been a cat person. Got a puppy for my third birthday, loved him, but just got cats better. But I stopped in the puppy room and fell in love with a dog. You know how they say you'll just know when something's right? This dog was in my heart before I even looked at her name.

Her name was Blue Moon. She's a Catahoula Leopard Dog. She was 4 months old, had one brown eyes and one blue eye and jumped to put her front paws on the wall when no one else in her litter did. She was gorgeous, and she was sweet, and she was perfect. Well, I live in an apartment. I'm looking for a house, but don't have one and won't for at least a few months. So I begged on Facebook and via phone for someone to house the dog, for $100 a month, until I could get a house. I'd buy everything, plus pay them. bydesign77 and his wife were considering it. I went back two days later, and the dog had been adopted. Oh well, at least she was wanted, right?

Fast forward to today. I went to the Humane Society for my training session to be a volunteer. Afterward, I walked through the adult dog room, and Blue Moon was back. She'd been returned the day before because her new family didn't have enough time for her. Who adopts a 4-month-old puppy and then realizes it will take time?

I mean, it's fate, right? The day I'm there, she's back? I take her out in the play area, rub her belly, the whole shebang. She looks up at me with those big eyes, and I'm sunk. I call bydesign, he and his wife say absolutely. But they have to go out of town for 12 days in June. I offered to housesit and take care of her while they're gone, but they don't have high-speed internet so I couldn't work from there. They're 90 minutes from my apartment/office. So it wasn't plausible. I called everyone I could think of. My dad, in Kentucky, says "We can't take another animal." I tell him it's only two weeks, I'll drive her up, pay them $50, pick her back up. He says "Fine, bring the goddamn dog."

Well, I'm not taking my dog somewhere where someone would talk to/about her like that. Plus, hes like "She'd have to stay out in the garage" which is bullshit since they have a dog inside already who gets along with everyone.

So as I continue to burn up my phone, a couple and their 3-year-old take her out. They fall in love, of course, but they're also looking at another puppy. So I keep calling/texting/IMing with everything I've got. And they got her. I sat 5 feet away as they adopted her. And I'm happy for her, because they just bought a house and have an acre and that little boy for her to grow up with. But I'll be goddamned if I'm not still sobbing.

I could have just adopted her, and figured out the two weeks later. But that wasn't going to be fair to her. And she deserved room to run. So I sit here, with my heart feeling like it's in 12 pieces. I loved that dog in a matter of 30 minutes. And now she's off to at least her second family while I sit here in tears.

 

I truly feel your pain, and I am sorry.
That's why when I take food and treats by the HS from time to time, I never go where they have the dogs. I just drop stuff off at the desk and bolt before I make eye contact with any of them.

 

Atlanta Humane Society does not kill a dog for time limits or space. The only way they get put down is if they're a danger or they have serious health issues.

 

Wow, you have such a good soul.

 

Well aware, Moddy. It's why I can volunteer there and couldn't at some others in places where I've lived.

Still hurts like a motherfucker. Worst pain I've felt in a while.




Oggie: sarcasm?

 

I'm sorry, IJAG.

I had to wait five years before I had the means to adopt my pet, and it was really hard to wait, but then I ended up with the perfect kitty for me.

One day you will have your perfect puppy.

 

That's the thing, Turtle: I am not a dog person. Not sure I'll ever want another dog. This dog was a part of me from the first time I saw her.

I'm fine with my two kitties. Might get more when these are gone. But I've never felt that way about a dog before. And it just felt right. And I couldn't get anyone to take her for 12 days. Just ... feels like I was so close and couldn't do it. And it hurts.

 

Oh, and: because I did my training today, I got to bring my leash home. So that's awesome, and taunting me.

 

Hell no. You love the heck out of that dog and would have cared for it almost as a cherished child.

You do more for assorted animals than most of us would even think of doing.

You're a bit like my wife. We are caring for about a ton of pets, right now. Of course the 1,800-pound horse that some neighbors were having trouble finding a place for pushes the poundage up a bit.

Add to that the golden retriever whose owners couldn’t keep that we adopted and the fat orange cat that "found" us.

There's the turtle my son took when a friend moved.

And, we just returned a cat that needed a foster home for a few months.

My wife is like a magnet for animals that need us.

I just shovel the poop, etc.

It's souls like hers and yours that make it happen.

 

Wish I'd known that. I'd have called you and asked you to take Blue Moon. In. [/crossthread]

Thanks, though. I'm not having kids, and I don't think of my cats as my children, but I do love them. Very much.