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Health & Fitness

Adopt Me!

Local animal shelters are full of great animals, like our dog, Lady. We adopted this great border collie nine years ago and consider her to be an important part of our family.

My kids are lucky to have a mom like me and not because I’m an uber-cool mom who lets them have cell phones and drink sodas. They are lucky because I beg (and bring home) pets as much as the kids beg for critters and because, well, I’m the mom, I get to have most of the pets I want. Except a goat. No on the goat. Or chickens. Darn it.

In 2002, our children were still pretty young, when I started begging my husband for a dog, again. We’d already tried once to have a dog when we were living in Southern California, but having an infant, a kindergartener and a puppy was a lot of work and to top it off, Toby was the dumbest dog I have ever met. He certainly was untrainable. When we moved that year, we gave Toby to a family from church and didn’t even speak of adopting another dog for years, which is not to say we didn’t have a host of other pets, including hamsters, rats, mice, cats, guinea pigs and rabbits. Just not another dog.

I love to adopt pets when I can (there are so many that need homes) and it wasn’t very long before the animal shelter was calling my name. My hubby, still in shock that a 70-pound Dalmatian could eat four garden hoses, a terracotta pot AND dig a hole big enough to stand in, all in one week, was skeptical of owning another dog.

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Perhaps he thought we just weren’t good pet owner candidates. Or perhaps he thought that having a dog and kids was more than even a good natured guy like he could handle.

I wore him down though. I pointed out that pet ownership taught compassion to children. That owning a pet was good for kids ... sharing the chores of pet clean up and feeding, although really, since it was me that was begging for a dog more than the kids, we all knew who would ultimately scoop, walk, and comb said critter.

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Plus, and this was the clincher, my hubby traveled a lot for business and I pulled the “a dog would be good security” card. Sure, we had a security system, but this dog would just make me feel more secure when David was across the world and I heard a bump in the night.

So, one day, in a moment I’m sure my husband has replayed in his head many times, he uttered the words, “Since you are the one who will be taking care of the dog, than it should be up to you whether our family gets another pet.” Yup, that means yes in my world. Yes, go and look at the shelters, look online, talk to your friends, go search for the perfect dog. The husband said yes.

It seemed like it was just the next day, but time has blurred when exactly the yes word was uttered and when we actually brought home the dog, but my youngest and I were picking up guinea pig food one afternoon when lo and behold we noticed Petsmart in Dublin was having a dog adoption event. The sidewalk in front of the store was full of dogs, barking and yipping and standing in crates, dog play pens, and cages.

I introduced myself and my son to a woman, named Tina, a representative of FOTOS, and she shared with me what she knew of the history of the little black and white dog she had on a leash. The young canine was found wandering the rural back roads of Oakdale, covered in ticks, fleas, and burrs.

FOTOS, the organization that rescues and places dogs from Oakdale, take the dogs from this small community into larger cities, like Dublin, where the chances of finding a home for great dogs like the little border collie are much better than a small farming community. 

As we talked, I watched as my son, 6 years old, and very good with animals, was taking the little black and white dog FOTOS had named “Oreo” for a walk. And Oreo, loving the boy that probably smelled of fish crackers and Spaghetti-os, was giving him wet doggy kisses and probably getting a second meal herself.

Needless to say, I signed on the dotted line and bought dog dishes, a dog leash, and a 10-pound bag of dog food and headed for home. I did call ahead of our arrival to share the good news with my husband, who was stunned into silence by the news. He uttered, “Um, I didn’t know you’d actually go and actually adopt a dog so soon.”

When we arrived home, all three children took turns walking the new dog, brushing and cuddling and in general, just enjoying the new pet. David, had the look of a man in shock or a man who has just increased his family by one when he was maybe not completely ready for another addition.

I reminded him, “You did say, it was up to me. It’s not my fault I found the dog today ... and she’s perfect, she really is.” It was hard to deny this, as we watched the kids. Oreo was very patient with them and gave them kisses and ran around in our dog perfect back yard. I think David reached the turning point when the pooch ran up and looked him in the eyes with her big, brown doggy lover eyes.

Who could say no to that?

Our family has loved having this adorable border collie as a member of our family for nine years, although we did decide to name her “Lady.”  Our son really liked the name, “Oreo,” but I knew that since this was my favorite treat (and try as I can, I cannot resist a bag of Oreos) it might be better to not name a pet after a favorite food. (Every time I called the dog’s name I’d probably have to go have a cookie.) So we compromised and named her, “Lady Oreo,” which had a certain royal ring to it.

I still think I am an uber cool mom who says yes, you can get a pet, especially if it’s from one of the many animal shelters in the county. We’ve done it too! Over the years we’ve adopted other critters including another dog, cats, rats, and even a chinchilla ... and I hope David knows that I still want a goat!

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