(no subject)
So, I've been wanting a puppy for a while now. Even before Buffy ever got sick and died. A couple of weeks after Buffy passed, I seriously started looking again. It was a hard and slow process, especially since I was still dealing with Buffy's death. About 2 weeks ago I knew I was going to get one, I just had to find the right one.
I sort of fell in puppy love with a picture I saw online (petfinder.com, in case you are looking), I actually drove over an hour to the Akron area to see her. Alas, she was already gone.
This past weekend, I went to the Lorain County Pound, one of the saddest places I have ever been. I went to look at a chow mix (Buffy had also been part chow), but the dog just wasn't right for me - plus I wanted a puppy.
Since I was already at the pound and feeling very sorry for the other "inmates," I decided to visit and spend some time with each dog that seemed to want company, and avoiding the ones that didn't.
The only actual puppy at the pound was a doberman pincher mix. She had the coloring, but no cropped tail or ears, and her body face was shaped rather un-dobie-like, if that's a word. She was so sad. Shivering. She pressed her whole body up against the cage door in the hopes that I would touch her. She was so sweet.
I went around on my rounds and came back to her a couple of times before I was ready to leave. At the desk they asked me if I liked any of them. I told them I was kind of interested in the "one in cage 34."
"Oh, a lot of people are interested in her. She was dog of the week on TV. We're going to have to have a lottery at 3pm, so if you want a chance at her, come back around 2:45."
I went to a couple of other shelters that day, none were anywhere near as sad as the pound, and none had a dog that interested me like that dobie mix. I never considered a dobie before, I don't really like that kind of dog, and they can get huge.
A few hours passed and I was still unsure, but since she was going to go to someone at 3pm, I thought I might as well go there and let FATE decide. If I won the lottery, it was meant to be. Right?
15 people were there at 2:45, all hoping for a chance at the puppy. One family even had 3 small, excited boys - 1 of them was picked to select the winning ticket. He read off the numbers, "3343," it was my ticket.
After I filled out the appropriate paperwork ($29 total, including license!), I took the dog out to the car. She was very chill, probably worn out from all the craziness of the day (and spending a week in the pound). I told her she was safe now. I told her I wouldn't leave her, and that I'd take good care of her. We bonded immediately, and since then, she has followed me around everywhere.
She's charmed everyone she's met, and has lived up to her name - Bella, which roughly means "beautiful" in italian.
She's been very happy since she came home with me, but she also has been somewhat sick. A little diarrhea, lethargy, loss of appetite, then yesteday she started vomitting, unable to keep any food down.
I took her to the vet today, and they informed me that she has parvo-virus. She will be in isolation at the vet for a week, it will cost me around $1000 for the treatment, and she still may not survive.
It broke my heart to leave her there.
The irony of this all is the fact that a couple of days ago, I told somebody about how I believed FATE decided that this dog was for me, and that person agreed. But in my usual pessimistic tone I wondered, "But what price will fate charge me in return?"
In a week we will know the answer to that question.
I sort of fell in puppy love with a picture I saw online (petfinder.com, in case you are looking), I actually drove over an hour to the Akron area to see her. Alas, she was already gone.
This past weekend, I went to the Lorain County Pound, one of the saddest places I have ever been. I went to look at a chow mix (Buffy had also been part chow), but the dog just wasn't right for me - plus I wanted a puppy.
Since I was already at the pound and feeling very sorry for the other "inmates," I decided to visit and spend some time with each dog that seemed to want company, and avoiding the ones that didn't.
The only actual puppy at the pound was a doberman pincher mix. She had the coloring, but no cropped tail or ears, and her body face was shaped rather un-dobie-like, if that's a word. She was so sad. Shivering. She pressed her whole body up against the cage door in the hopes that I would touch her. She was so sweet.
I went around on my rounds and came back to her a couple of times before I was ready to leave. At the desk they asked me if I liked any of them. I told them I was kind of interested in the "one in cage 34."
"Oh, a lot of people are interested in her. She was dog of the week on TV. We're going to have to have a lottery at 3pm, so if you want a chance at her, come back around 2:45."
I went to a couple of other shelters that day, none were anywhere near as sad as the pound, and none had a dog that interested me like that dobie mix. I never considered a dobie before, I don't really like that kind of dog, and they can get huge.
A few hours passed and I was still unsure, but since she was going to go to someone at 3pm, I thought I might as well go there and let FATE decide. If I won the lottery, it was meant to be. Right?
15 people were there at 2:45, all hoping for a chance at the puppy. One family even had 3 small, excited boys - 1 of them was picked to select the winning ticket. He read off the numbers, "3343," it was my ticket.
After I filled out the appropriate paperwork ($29 total, including license!), I took the dog out to the car. She was very chill, probably worn out from all the craziness of the day (and spending a week in the pound). I told her she was safe now. I told her I wouldn't leave her, and that I'd take good care of her. We bonded immediately, and since then, she has followed me around everywhere.
She's charmed everyone she's met, and has lived up to her name - Bella, which roughly means "beautiful" in italian.
She's been very happy since she came home with me, but she also has been somewhat sick. A little diarrhea, lethargy, loss of appetite, then yesteday she started vomitting, unable to keep any food down.
I took her to the vet today, and they informed me that she has parvo-virus. She will be in isolation at the vet for a week, it will cost me around $1000 for the treatment, and she still may not survive.
It broke my heart to leave her there.
The irony of this all is the fact that a couple of days ago, I told somebody about how I believed FATE decided that this dog was for me, and that person agreed. But in my usual pessimistic tone I wondered, "But what price will fate charge me in return?"
In a week we will know the answer to that question.