Change is in the wind

One week ago tonight my life changed in a way I was not expecting.  It started as a normal evening at home in the middle of a routine week.  Just the night before we'd spent a few hours at the local farmers market enjoying the plethora of delicious prepared food that's offered there.  We stopped to pet one of the rescue dogs that they always have at the corner and remarked, once again, that we were not ready to open our battered hearts to a new dog, not just yet.

The best laid plans...

Fast forward to the next evening.  I was spending a few hours minutes on the computer before I settled in for a long evening of TV pondering  the world's problems when I noticed a posting on Facebook (not that I go there all that often) which caught my eye.

ROCKY NEEDS A TEMPORARY FOSTER HOME!


This is Rocky, a darling 12 pound Pomeranian mix. He was rescued from the shelter last week. Unfortunately, he developed kennel cough. It's not a serious problem for him, but kennel cough is contagious and so he needs a foster home without other dogs. Rocky will not be able to undergo the veterinary procedures he needs until the kennel cough clears up.


If you can offer a temporary home to Rocky, please let us know.
Thank you!

Something about that cute little face tugged at my heartstrings.  I knew I wasn't ready for a new dog and we didn't even want a small dog like this but we did have a dogless home that could offer him temporary shelter while he got over kennel cough.  I wrote to the rescue organization (which I had been familiar with through a friend) before I could change my mind.

Two days later we headed up the coast about 40 miles to the vet hospital where "Rocky" was convalescing.  We met the rescue organization's board member who had sprung Rocky from the shelter and she turned him over to us along with a bunch of toys and blankets.  Later that day another board member stopped by with a crate and food.

It didn't take long for us to know that we had to rethink the whole "we're not ready for another dog" policy.  Rocky (we're changing the name, I'll announce that later) is the quietest small dog I've ever known.  I've only heard him bark once.  He loves riding in the car with us, walks perfectly on a leash and likes nothing better than to sleep next to me on the couch.  He's calm and mellow but always ready for fun.   He has a few of Jasper's quirks and mannerisms which has been a little freaky at times.

I figured our lives would be in upheaval after getting him but he's fit seamlessly into our lives with very little adjustment.  One of the hardest things about the last six months has been not having anyone to take care of.  My mornings seemed empty without someone to take out and feed so it's been nice to get back into that routine.  T says he enjoys listening to the 'family' sounds once again.

Rocky has had a rough life recently.  His original family gave him away to a neighbor because they were moving but the neighbor had other dogs so Rocky spent most of his time in her backyard by himself.  She eventually decided she didn't want him after all so she put him in the shelter.  His eyes were wary and full of concern when we first got him, I'm sure he was wondering how long this was going to last before he had to go somewhere else.

So yeah, he's not going anywhere; we've started the adoption process.  He still has a few routine veterinary procedures to go through before he's officially ready for adoption but he's definitely ours.  His eyes are happy now.