For the past six months, I've been obsessively researching dog breeds, shelters, rescues and other places to get a dog in order to find the perfect animal for me. I wanted a Samoyed, or maybe a Golden Retriever. I put my information on dozens of rescue websites for different breeds because I thought I had my heart set on a certain type of dog. I wanted the "perfect" dog, and thought I would wait until I found one, but I couldn't have been more wrong.
Last week, my roommate and I decided to take a trip to a shelter in the next town over just to visit with the dogs and play with them. I had no idea that when I walked into that shelter that I would fall in love with an animal and leave with my new best friend.
When we walked into the rooms where they keep the adoptable dogs, I saw so many pairs of sweet, loving eyes looking up at me that I almost immediately teared up. Shelters are so hard for me to visit because it breaks my heart that so many animals with so much love to give don't have homes. I walked around for a few minutes with my roommate, looking at all the pitbull mixes and small dogs, but when I rounded a corner, my heart dropped. I saw a big, fluffy, adorable cinnamon-colored dog curled up in the corner of her cage and ran over to her. She jumped up off her bed and ran over to the glass, and as soon as I looked into her sad brown eyes I knew I would end up taking her home. She was a six-year-old German Shepherd mix (one of the breeds I thought I had eliminated off my carefully crafted "list" of dog breeds I would adopt) and there was just something in her eyes that made me feel like I had to take her home with me. A few minutes later, my roommate fell in love with a six-year-old Alaskan Husky mix (even though she had only ever talked about wanting a small dog).
We went to the front desk of the shelter and put our names down requesting to visit with these two dogs, but we weren't at all prepared for what would happen next. The shelter staff then informed us that the two dogs we fell in love with were actually brought in together by the same family a little over a week ago. They were brought in because the family had to relocate and weren't able to take their sweet babies with them. They had been raised together from the time they were puppies, and they're best friends. My roommate and I exchanged a glance that said, "Well, looks like we're taking two dogs home today." When we told the shelter staff that we were roommates and both looking to adopt, they were overjoyed at the thought of these cuties being able to go to a new home together.
A few minutes later we were sitting on the floor of a visitation room, being covered from head to toe in kisses from these two adorable animals. They were so immediately affectionate with us and so happy to be back with each other, that we were both so far gone the second they came into the room.
We took them home and it's been about two months since we did so. It's definitely been an experience, but neither of us would trade it for the world. Every new obstacle that arises has taught me a new lesson, and I've learned more from this dog, from the patience and focus that she teaches me how to have, than I ever thought I would. Would it have been easier to buy a $2000 puppy that was exactly the breed I wanted, and train it so it would follow all of our rules? Probably. But these sweet pups, along with every other animal out there, deserved a loving home and we had the resources to give that to them. And now that these wonderful animals have come into our lives, we can't imagine it any other way.
My roommate and I both deal with anxiety, and have busy, stressful lives. We had hoped that having animals around the house would help us relax, but had no idea how much warmth and light and love these two dogs would bring into our home. Maybe it's that it feels like they give us a little extra love each and every time we come home because they're so relieved to not be in that shelter anymore. Or maybe it's just the feeling that even though technically we rescued these animals, they really rescued us. Either way, I understand now that shelter animals will give you a type of love you have never had before, the type of love that changes everything.
