I can hardly believe that PJ is turning five next weekend (August 18th) and then starting Kindergarten (August 21st). He's a little sponge soaking up all the information and
experiences around him. It's astonishing how fast time flies and how quickly
he grows.
I remember talking to PJ on his birthday last
year and asking him what he wanted. He specifically said "I want to be 5
years old, mama. And I want a doggie!". It looks like this year both of
his wishes came true.
Please meet Roxy (left) and Angel (right) the newest additions to our
family.
It all started weeks ago when I dropped by the Humane
Society to get some puppy-therapy*. The HS is right around the corner from my
apartment, so it's not unusual for me to drop by and play with pups (you know you
do this sometimes, too!!!). While I was there playing with the two black puppy
labs, Banjo and Jack, I started seriously considering adopting one. Then
rational thoughts kicked in and I talked myself out of it. I couldn't just buy
a puppy on the whim. I need to think it over. Then think it over again. Then
ONE more time just to make sure I want to deal with a puppy.
While re-writing my pros and cons list for the fourth time,
I was scrolling through the "Pet" category on Louisville Craigslist.
That is where I saw them. The title of the ad was "Beautiful puppies need
forever homes", and I think I beat some sort of record for fastest phone
call dialed to see if either had been adopted yet. To my surprise and luck, they
weren't!
So the next morning I drove an hour outside of Louisville to
go meet these incredibly gorgeous puppies and to pick out which one would come home with me. It turned out that they were in
horrible, neglectful living conditions. The people who were re-homing the pups
had kept them outside with their Mom as well as 4 other adult dogs. No
kennels, no leashes, no invisible fence, nothing. The puppies were sweet as could be and I fell
in-love instantly. I paid the
people and said I'd come back first thing the next day (Saturday) to pick up one of them, giving myself that evening to puppy-proof my house and buy all of the
things I'd need.
Saturday couldn't come fast enough as I took PJ with me this
time on the hour long drive to surprise him with an early birthday present--A
PUPPY (note that I said A puppy, singular)! As we pulled up to the people's
house, the lady and her daughter were outside looking for the puppies under the
porch (where they normally were found in the mornings). They weren't there.
They then looked on the other side of the house, in the woods, down near a pond,
in their neighbors barn, and before I knew it two and a half hours have gone by
and we're still looking for these lost pups. We had hope that they're okay because the Mom dog and one other adult dog were missing too, so we
figured they were all in a pack together out playing in the woods.
It started to rain and I decided to finally take PJ home as
it came close to the 3rd hour. I was pretty devastated leaving without the pups
and my imagination was running rampant with a thousand different things that
could have happened to them. Maybe someone stole them. What if they drowned in
the pond? What if a larger animal attacked them in the woods? Or worse, what if
they were road kill. I tried to push everything out of mind and keep cheery and
positive for PJ, who was sad that his surprise had gone missing also. Besides,
it looked like an all out thunderstorm was approaching and that would surely
flush them out of the woods and bring them back home.
Come Sunday morning, and after a huge thunder storm, the
puppies and adult dogs were still not home. I had given up hope and decided to let go of the idea of even
getting a dog--I guessed it just wasn't meant to be for now.
Monday I was working like normal and around 10:00AM got a
call from the woman telling me that the puppies showed up! She told me how the two adults had
actually shown up late on Sunday evening and how they thought the pups wouldn't return home since the adults abandoned them. Then late morning on Monday the pups
came out of the woods and trotted up home together. I was SO overjoyed and ecstatic
after I hung up that phone. They survived, and I was still going to get my puppy!!!!
I went right after work (my third hour long trip, mind you)
to get the puppies. This time the people put them in a kennel so there was no
chance of them running off again. They were in horrible condition. Ticks, fleas, mud, and who knows what else. I couldn't choose just one, so I took them both. Once I got them home they immediately were
given tick and flee baths while all kinds of souvenirs from the woods were
washed out of their fur. In total there were around 25 ticks pulled off of both
pups and we're still taming the flee issue. As of now they've been
to the vet to get shots, de-wormed, and examined for any injuries. Both are
a-ok.
Although some people may think I'm insane for taking on this
responsibility, I couldn't be happier to be the owner of the Solider Sisters. Plus, PJ is loving his new best friends. All around, these dogs
have been a huge blessing in our lives and we are so happy to have them.
* A whole lot cheaper than hiring a shrink! Holding puppies
just makes me happy!
