I am making my loved one's sick. And I don't mean I gave them the bronchitis I was suffering through for the last two weeks. I talk about getting a dog ad naseum. I know I do it. I just can't help it. Looking for a dog has become an obsession. My boyfriend is getting to the point where he just wants to throw me off a cliff. I'm pretty sure my roommate is in the same boat. My co-workers and siblings are well on their way.
Checking petfinder and the local classifieds have become part of my online routine, just as much as checking my email or facebook account. I have dubbed it Puppy Hunting. My boyfriend and co-workers have been getting daily emails from me, updating them on the dogs I'm inquiring about and hoping to adopt.
Not much progress has been made since I candidly wrote the Dog Blog, when the Puppy Hunting was really starting to take off. It has been a tough decision all around. Do I want a dog a I can run with? Do I want a cute little lap dog? Should I wait until I move (the logical answer to this is yes but I refuse to quit looking)? What if I find a good deal I just can't pass up?
The dogs I have called about have all been adopted, or they're asking for two grand and my first born child in exchange for their AKC pooches. I practically insulted one breeder when I offered her $500 for her four year-old Shiba Inu (which is waaaay more than I'd like to pay). I could hear laughing in her response email. What kind of breeder did I think she was? She was breeding Eukanuba show dogs, hello! Although I never met this woman in person, I imagined her to be Parker Posey in the movie Best in Show. If you've seen this movie, you know what I'm talking about.
What's really been complicating the hunt is that the breed I initially set out to get is not the only breed I'm interested in now. My hunt for a pug has now expanded into a list that includes the following breeds (in no particular order):
- Pug
- Boston Terrier
- French Bulldog
- Lab
- Husky
- Shiba Inu
But alas, there's hope. Yesterday, I dragged my boyfriend, kicking and screaming, to yet another dog adoption event hosted by a rescue shelter (he really is good to me). While they didn't have any of the aforementioned breeds, I did hold a pekingese/chihuahua mix. While she was a cutie, I was so afraid that if I took her home, I'd step on her and kill her. I could hold her in the palm of my hand. She definitely wouldn't be running with me. I could carry her under my arm as I ran around greenlake.
Then a guy walked by with the most muscular, snotty Pit Bull I ever saw. He was trying to adopt him, but this dog was already taking his new owner for a ride on his leash. That dog was definitely walking him. When the dog calmed down to take a drink from a bowl for two seconds, the man exclaimed, "Oh my god! He drank that entire bowl of water in one gulp!"
Yeah....not quite the breed I had in mind.
But that's when I locked eyes with a tame, not so muscular, cute Pit Bull mix.
It raised it's eye brows as if to say, "Are you going to pick me?"
I walked across the room over to her cage, and she promptly jumped up and greeted me with a smile. I started petting her and she began licking my hand. She was so excited that I even came over to visit her. Everyone had been walking by her because no one (except for that crazy man) really wants a Pit Bull.
Then she sat down, as if to show me that she could be a good, calm dog. I was impressed at how smart she was. She was very aware that she needed to perform in order to get chosen. She kept looking at me with her raised brows even while she was calm and laying down.
I felt awful. I knew I wasn't going to adopt her, but I just wanted to take her home out of pity. Once she realized she wasn't going home with me, her eyebrows fell, and she laid back down, with her head resting on her paws in dissapointment. It killed me.
I learned some more logical advice that I probably won't follow: I have got to stop going to these adoption events until I can really bring a dog home. Otherwise, I'm going to depress myself. It's just so sad.
With that being said, I have made up my mind to continue Puppy Hunting only at Resuce Shelter websites. No adoption events. No breeders. I need to give a home to a dog that really needs one. That Pit Bull may not have gone home with me, but it still captured my heart enough to redirect the course of this crazy obsession of mine.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but I will continue Puppy Hunting until I hit a bullseye.
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