Opening our hearts and home

Last weekend while I was out on my photo hike, the Mister hit our local pet store to get a few things for the fur kids, and happened upon an Adopt a Pet event.

Not too far from us is a HUGE no-kill animal refuge. They take in all sorts of creatures, not just dogs and cats. They have goats and burros, horses, pigs, birds, rabbits, a veritable Ark. Mister was chatting up one of the adoption coordinators who told him about a smallish, youngish, Lab-ish dog who was available, but was unable to attend the event. She was recovering from surgery to fix a shattered hip and broken pelvis, the result of being hit by a car.

Flash forward to when I got home that afternoon and Mister let this innocent encounter drop. He told me a little about the dog, letting me think he was interested in bringing her into our family.

The next day, I did some online checking and discovered the refuge was open to the public on Sundays. I asked Mister if he was serious about adopting another pet. He went through his usual routine of how we were finally down to a manageable menagerie of only two pets, about the extra time and cost another dog would require, and problems of adopting a potentially crippled pet.

I then did my thing of saying if he wasn’t serious about the dog, it would have been better if he never told me anything about her. Of course, that made me look like the harridan I was being. I may have been a little pissy when he seemed to go back on his initial interest in adopting.

Flash forward to later that afternoon and the Mister told our son they were going into town, then turned to me saying I was going too. Once in the car, I knew I had been duped, especially when he handed me a brochure from the refuge and told me I was the navigator for getting us to the shelter. He had already made arrangements the day before to visit the facility.

Once there we were introduced to Piney, a four-year-old, miniature black Lab mix. She is only about 30 pounds and absolutely adorable. Her hip seems to be healing well, but she is still favoring her injured leg. She has another week of quarantine, to allow time for spaying and vaccinations, and to make sure there are no serious complications from the reconstructive surgery. She may always limp.

Sunday, when we got home, we completed our adoption application online.

Today, we received our official acceptance. We just have to wait on her release date. I’ll be able to visit with her again before she comes home with us, hopefully letting us bond a little before she is a permanent part of the family.

I get the pleasure of naming her – or renaming her. Piney was a temporary pick because that was the name of the road where she was struck by a car…. yeah, we’re gonna change that.