Cordelia's Mom, Still

I held out as long as I could.  In this case, it wasn’t very long at all.

After our second dog died in January, I simply found the house too empty.  After all, the other dog died last year, the last gerbil died last year, and my youngest child moved out on her own last year.

After only a few weeks, I needed a dog in the house.  I started dropping hints to the husband, who was adamant that no way would we get another one.  I didn’t much care what he said – I kept searching the SPCA website.

Last week, the SPCA posted pictures of some adorable young dogs, and I upped my campaign, finally ending with,

“If we’re staying in this house, we’re getting another dog.  If we’re not getting another dog, then we’re selling the house and moving into a 55+ apartment. “

Hubby opted for the apartment.

Ok, so I pretty much let it go.  I prefer my house, dog-less or otherwise.

But then, the SPCA posted puppy pictures – 6-month-old “hound/shepherd mix.” In our usual mid-morning telephone conversation (we both work), I idly mentioned seeing those photos and that it was too bad we were going into an apartment and couldn’t get one of those puppies.

A few minutes later, I received a text message:  “Send me those puppy pictures.”

Now, we all know that when the SPCA gets puppies in, they get adopted really fast.  On the spur of the moment, hubby and I agreed to meet at the SPCA and “just take a look.”  Need I mention how fast I drove?

But before I left, I called the SPCA to verify the pups were still there and to find out if we were in their records from when we adopted our Morgan 13 years ago.  The receptionist looked up my name and said, with a chill in her voice:  “I see you surrendered a guinea pig?”

I patiently explained to her that, no, the guinea pig had died of old age at home, and I merely brought him in to be properly cremated, rather than simply bury him in our back yard where the dogs could dig him up.  I then asked her to look up my husband’s name, and won’t wonders never cease, we were still on record.  Thus saving us from having to fill out new paperwork if we wished to adopt.

Well, wouldn’t you know it – the pups, while absolutely gorgeous, turned out to be the size of ponies, and we didn’t want a dog that would top out at more than 50 lbs., having realized after our 90-lb German Shepherd that too large a dog might be too much now that we are older.

At that point, I figured I wasn’t meant to get a puppy after all.

But then, hubby began dropping hints that he might want another purebred German Shepherd, so a couple of days later I started calling breeders.  No one had litters coming up, and the price ($1,000.00 or more) would really be pushing that household budget.  What would happen if we paid that much for a dog and then had some major household emergency?

Just as I got off the phone with the last breeder, I glanced again at the SPCA web page – at that very moment, new puppy info was posted:  4-month-old “mixed German Shepherd” puppies!  I called the husband, resulting in my leaving work immediately for an early lunch.

There were 4 puppies- 3 girls, 1 boy.  In the 20 minutes it took me to get to the SPCA, one of the girls had already been adopted and was awaiting pick-up, and she was breathtakingly beautiful.  The other pups were no slouches, either.  I had my eye on the boy, and called my hubby – we had already agreed that I could make a decision if the size and breed were right, but I wanted to just touch base.  You do that if you’re married, and especially if the hubby will ultimately be the one walking and picking up after the 50+-lb dog.

I had to walk outside to get good reception.  And wouldn’t you know it – by the time I walked back in, another couple were in the process of adopting my little boy!    The wife gave me that “Stay away from my dog” stare.  Damn!

There were still 2 girls left, so I had the smaller one taken into a room where I could play with her, and where I could call hubby again.  The intention was that if I didn’t like this one, I could then look at the remaining unadopted puppy.

But even while I was playing with my possible new puppy, a young man kept walking past the glass wall of the room where I was and eyeing the puppy I was playing with.  He even went so far as to tap the glass and wave to the puppy.  I now understood that evil stare from that other lady.  I knew if I let “my” puppy out of my hands to check out her sister, both puppies would be adopted before I could say boo.  So with my husband’s phone permission (sounds a little dirty, doesn’t it?), I paid to have a hold put on my new puppy so that hubby could come after work to see her for himself.

Good thing, too, ’cause while I was playing with my soon-to-be-adopted puppy, her sister was being adopted.  I could have lost both dogs in the blink of an eye.  Potential puppy owners are more aggressive than the dogs they’re adopting.

After work, my husband and I met at the SPCA again, and I was really worried he would hate the puppy.  She is more Golden Retriever than German Shepherd, and she is slightly larger than we wanted – probably will top out at about 60 lbs.  The puppy was brought into the viewing room, and seemed more hesitant than she was earlier, possibly because she had just spent the last 15 minutes puppy fighting with her sister.  She whimpered when she saw her sister being taken down the hall.

But then, she came over and curled up against me, with her head near my heart – and when my husband spoke to her, she wagged her little tail just enough.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

Cody at the SPCA

Meet Cody – the Golden-Shepherd.  Never thought I’d wind up with a “designer breed”!

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Images by: Joey Rozier/mrjoro, and hugovk, and Cordelia’s Mom, respectively