About 2 months ago, Josh and I were at a local pet store just for fun. We can across a couple little blue heelers. We had been around and around about what kind of dog we could agree on when we finally got one. Josh likes dogs like huskies, german shepards and boxers. I love all those kind of dogs as well, but what I really wanted was something not girly, definitely not a purse dog (do not get me started on people who do stupid stuff like that), but something that was relatively small and would tolerate apartment life well. I liked Shiba Inus, Jack Russel Terriers (yes I know, they're hyper) and any kind of medium size mix-breed. That day in the pet store, Josh and I found some common ground: blue heelers. They are such adorable dogs, with their speckled fur and that look of pure mischief. The crazy pet store wanted a little more than $500 for a dog from a puppy mill. We definitely did not want to go that route, but we were on the lookout for a good puppy.
On Friday, my mom was sneakily putting a hold on a rescue puppy from way down south in Alamosa. He was a mutt, but looked like a mini blue heeler. I had seen him online and fell in love. As it turned out, we were the second on the list to hold this puppy. We did not think we had much of a chance but late on Friday night, my mom got a call saying that the first hold had fallen through, and if we still wanted the dog we could have him if we got to Colorado Springs by 10:45 am the next day. Everything happened so fast from there. Josh and I had to decide quickly, if we were willing to gamble a 1.5 hour long drive to go get a puppy we had never even met. We also had to decide if we could even have a puppy right now. Puppies cost money, and I am out of a job currently. That actually ended up being the determining factor: since I was not working, we figured what better time than now? I would be home with the puppy to help him get situated, potty trained, etc. Long story short, Josh and I were out the door at 8:30 am yesterday.
When we pulled up to the Petsmart in Colorado Springs, I was very nervous. I had no idea what to expect from an adoption event like this. I was also being paranoid that I would have to fight for the puppy I wanted. We walked in and were led to the back of the store, into the stock room. There, about 10 volunteers were busy putting up makeshift pens in a wide circle. We watched as they started hauling in crate after crate of puppies, kitties and lastly, large older dogs. All of this was breaking my heart. I knew somewhere in all that was my little puppy, but it was killing me to know that most of these animals would be going right back to the shelter at the end of the day. Eventually, a lady asked the crowd if anyone had a hold on a puppy. I raised my hand and told her what I was looking for. After a couple minutes of searching through the pens, she brought over a wriggling, squirmy, excited little black bundle. She handed him right to Josh and immediately the puppy started whining and licking and wagging his whole body. This puppt was a lover from the beginning. I sat down in the middle of this nasty storeroom and fell in love. So did everyone else. All the people around me were freaking out about the puppy that was ours. It was funny.
Turns out, everything was all down hill from there. There were TWO people who could help you fill out the necessary paperwork, take the money, screen potential adopters, etc. And let me tell you something: there were a LOT more than two people who wanted to walk out of there with a puppy. It took 3 hours for me to finally get everything situated to where we could leave. Poor Josh had to walk around the store countless times with a restless puppy, while I had to stand squished between tons of people trying to write and trying to ignore the madness around me. Truthfully, this was the most devastating experience for me. There was a whole pen of husky-shepherd puppies and they were so so so sick. They were teeny, could not have been more than 8 weeks. Unlike all the other puppies who were hopping up and down and whining for attention, these babies were just listlessly laying on the floor. I watched 4 of the 5 vomit while standing there. And not just a little bit...a lot. And when they were done they would just collapse. This was terrifying to me, because it looked like Parvo ( a flu like illness that often kills puppies) and it is HIGHLY contagious. Then, I watched a very timid pitbull cowering in the back of her pen. People are so stupid, they would walk up and kick her cage and shake it and try to get her to react. Finally, someone walked too close to her with a puppy and she lost it. It was the scariest 2 minutes of my life. Thank God she was in a cage otherwise that puppy would be dead. But sadly, her temper probably means that she will be put to sleep...all because some idiot probably abused her and dumped her off. UGH! I hate thinking about stuff like this, and here I was in the middle of it all. Probably the most heartbreaking part was watching our puppy's littermates be so confused when their brother was lifted out and handed to someone and they were left behind. I literally cried. It was the saddest thing ever. Luckily, while I was standing there, both of his siblings found families too.
Anyway, after such an ordeal in a stinky, poopy, sad place, Josh and I were so ready to take our puppy and get the hell out of there. He slept on my lap like a baby the whole way home. When we got him here, he explored around like puppies do and started showing us lots of different personality traits. We seriously went around and around for 6 hours about a name for this poor dog. When bed time came, he was still the nameless puppy. He did great his first night at home, sleeping about 4 hours at a time, and crying when he needed to go potty. We are so extremely happy that we finally have one more piece of our family. He is such a dream puppy. Josh and I got a dog together back when we were like 19...but the timing was horrible and poor Sidney had to suffer the lack of a place to go when Josh and I could not get ourselves figured out. We gave her up to a shelter and prayed that she would find a good home. We have both been plagued with guilt ever since, and we promised that no matter what happened in our lives, we would NEVER do that again. It is with a slightly heavy heart that we now have this new puppy. It makes us both think of our first baby and its sad, but now we have this new baby to take care of. We are so blessed. This morning when we woke up, we finally decided his name. So now, I introduce to you: our baby Charlie.
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