As I was taking a break (procrastinating) from writing the 1000 words that I promised myself I'd add to my novel today, I decided to do a little more catching up on my blog reading. At Bringing up Bella, I learned that today is an Adopt-a-thon day, so I wanted to tell you a quick story about a dog I've never met.
A dog named Pearl...
Many of you already know that we have a very tiny house. And if you didn't know that already, you do now. At 650 sq ft, it is smaller than some garages...but we love it all the same. The problem is, it prevents us from rescuing as many dogs as we would like. (That, and several mortgage payments worth of vet bills over the past few months.)
Yet, for some strange reason, I still find myself looking at dogs on the internet. Why? A few reasons come to mind.
Maybe it's because I know two of my dogs are seniors, and have accepted that they will not be around forever. But if something should ever happen to either of them, I don't think I could adopt another dog right away. I would feel as if I was replacing them. And they could never be replaced. HOWEVER, if I adopted a dog long before the inevitable event, well then there would be no issue....would there?
Or, it might be because, as much as I love the three I have now, I have always wanted a therapy dog. Leah and Meadow are definitely not candidates, and although I once thought Toby could do the job, he has some "issues" that I always hoped to resolve, but never did. After trying to change him for six years or so, I gave up, and accepted him for who he is. An energetic, sweet, goofy, Lab, who is just a little "special." That's not to say I don't love him, or love the girls. It's like the couple who have three girls, yet try again for a boy. That doesn't mean they love the girls any less (or at least I hope not)...they just want that boy too. Well I love the three I dogs have, but I want a therapy dog too.
Finally, the reason I look might be because I'm nuts. Really, it could be some sort of mental illness...I've heard of such things. And I'm pretty sure a lot of other animal lovers suffer from the same condition. Several spring immediately to mind - and they know who they are.
Whatever the reason, that's how I discovered Pearl. I saw her on Labs4rescue at the beginning of October, and out of all the dogs I've viewed online, for some reason, I fell head over heels in love with her without ever meeting her. Just like I did when we found Meadow. With descriptors like "sweet," "gem," "smart," and "low key", I thought, "Might she be my therapy dog?" So I begged Nick to consider her. We'd make the room. What's one more crate? We'd make the finances work. Somehow things always work out.
And he started to agree, but we had a vacation coming up. What would we do with her on such short notice? And then Leah got sick and needed tests, so I put her out of my mind.
After our vacation, when I thought Leah was on the mend, and the other two hadn't yet had heart murmurs and mast cell tumors diagnosed, I looked on Labs4rescue again, and there she was, my Perfect Pearl, still waiting for me.
Nick finally said okay, we'd find the room, but only IF we could afford her. He left it up to me. And since I do the bills, I thought, maybe. I could give some stuff up. No need to take so many dog training classes. I could take the dogs to the park or the beach instead. They'd still get outings, and it would be free. And did we really need to eat so many dinners out? Surely, cooking at home would be healthier...
But, in the end, I decided, no, I'd better wait...and then when everything went down with Toby and Meadow...I put Perfect Pearl out of my mind completely. (You believe that, right?)
Well now it appears that Leah's going to be fine, I'm sure Toby's newest lump will be another cyst, and hopefully, Meadow will be fine too. She's already on the mend. So, I somehow found myself on Labs4rescue again - and guess who's still for adoption? And Christmas is coming. What better gift to give to ourselves than opening our hearts and home to another dog? One that might even have a future in therapy work, and help countless people?
So please, someone, adopt this dog. Because when Meadow's results come back and I learn she only had a type one or mild type two tumor like I am hoping for...I'm going to find it really difficult not to fill out an adoption application.
Perfect Pearl - she's been waiting at least two months for someone to take her in. Could you be that someone?
UPDATE: As of 12/9/11 - Pearl no longer shows up if you search Labs4rescue for female yellow Labs (don't ask why I checked) - which means - she has most likely found a home of her own (and can finally stop haunting me)! Hooray for Pearl!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fellow Bloggers - did you hear about the Blogging Fundraiser to Benefit Animals? Its worth checking out - win money for your favorite charity, and a little cash for yourself too!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday Blog Hop:
e8a93c33-6039-4ee7-a776-ed0a586eed92|1|5.0