1) Since my mom is our official dogsitter, one little dog is just about all she can handle and thankfully with Ginny being almost 13 years old, she's generally easy to watch. We travel frequently, and to ask my mom to watch more than one dog would be a lot.
2) We really don't want to put Ginny through losing another sister because she's endured seven very difficult goodbyes (not to mention two additional goodbyes when my mom's dogs passed away).
While those really are concerns, I'd be lying if I didn't admit that we worry about Ginny being lonely. Maddy was her best friend. They came from the same foster home and were inseparable for nine years. When Maddy died in August 2018, the only thing that saved Ginny was the company of my mom's dog, Ava. In a cruel twist of fate, Ava passed away in February 2019, and Ginny was once again alone. Then we adopted Riley in October 2019, at the age of ten, and with Ginny having just turned eleven, we thought the two would be together for several years, but cancer had other plans. So it's now been 15 months and Ginny is still alone.
I do look at dog adoption sites all the time. After reading the profiles of hundreds of dogs, I recently found one that I wanted to risk a broken heart for.
I applied to adopt to this little dog, who was located in Texas, and C and I were willing to drive there to bring her home. The application was fairly lengthy and involved providing references; I also wrote an extremely detailed narrative about our experience with Dachshunds, rescued Dachshunds, and senior rescued Dachshunds. I described the type of life this little dog would have if we were chosen as adopters, I explained the lengths we have gone to in order to provide the best and most thorough medical care and treatments available, regardless of the cost, and I shared the complete and utter love and devotion we have for our dogs.
Despite all of that, we were denied immediately because we don't have a fenced-in yard.
Yep.
I was devastated. I wrote a passionate rebuttal to that email. I explained that we live on two acres, with much of it wooded, and that we don't ever let Ginny outside without one of us to supervise her. I explained that over the years, we've had eight Dachshunds here, and not having a fence has never been an issue. I never heard back from the organization. Not even an acknowledgement of my reply.
I understand that rescue organizations must be cautious and careful when approving adopters. I really do get it. But seriously? We don't have a fence so the answer is just no?!?
They didn't bother checking our references. They didn't bother contacting our vet. They didn't bother speaking to us. They just saw "no" in response to the question, "Do you have a fenced-in yard?" and that was it.
We decided that maybe this letdown was a sign and that we should table the idea of adopting another dog, at least for now.
I miss the days of five little dogs running around the house, dog beds and blankets everywhere, and the cacophony of barking that took place multiple times throughout the day. Ginny isn't the only one who's lonely. It was chaotic at times, filled with countless vet visits, but I loved it. And I miss it.
But Ginny being an only dog comes with unlimited attention and many adventures for her. While C has always been her person - and this relationship has only been strengthened by 15 months of hanging out with C in the basement while he's been working from home - she wakes up between 3:30 and 4:00 each afternoon and waits at the bottom of the stairs for me to come home. She indulges me when I take a million photos of her and she tolerates me when I smother her with love and affection.
Maybe someday, we will adopt another dog. In the meantime, I know I will continue to look at dog rescue sites and to donate to dog rescue organizations. But for right now, we are content with being a one-dog household because we know how lucky we are to have Ginny and I love every second of our life with her.
Happy Tails to you!
No comments:
Post a Comment