Our family dog hunt

Click link for a photo album of Oreo's adoption https://photos.app.goo.gl/9nxaveaonQQP3Amt6 

    

Oreo and his mouse

Over the years, we had always discussed adding a dog to our family at some point.  Derek grew up with several dogs, and I had one, Muffin, an Airedale Terrier mix that we acquired while I was in fifth grade because the Collie pups my dad had just seen at the shelter were already installed in their new homes.  My mom and dad had both had Collies when they were younger; mom had Lucky and dad had Shep, who came along with the apple farm property his family was moving to in the late 1950's.  Derek's family had a variety of breeds; starting with two St. Bernard's his parents owned before he was born, a  and several black Labs, the last two of which I met in the Spring of 2004 when I visited his parents at their North Carolina home while his mother was ill. 

In our family discussions, we planned to wait until we had a home with a yard and until our finicky Tuxedo cat Luna Bella passed away, since she seemed to enjoy her "only pet" status. Six months ago we made a move from Southern California to Northern Colorado during a pandemic.  My parents decided to make the move along with us, as did the now nearly 18 year old cat.  Around the holidays, after several months of Covid-living and adjusting to hybrid school and our new environs, we started discussing the possibility of not waiting for Luna to reach the end of her adventures before seeking our new canine companion.  Our eleven year old son, not having new neighborhood buddies like his sister (way more 8-9-10 year old girls on our street than 10-11-12 year old boys), had been socializing exclusively with his California friends via Fortnite and Discord and sorely needed a buddy.  Seriously, the ratio of similarly aged girls to boys in our neighborhood is more than double.  (8 1/2:3 1/2) In the beginning, we were researching Bernedoodles.  Hypoallergenic, adorable, and comparable to Labradoodles like our beloved cousins' dogs Moose and Benny, we thought they would be a lovely fit for our new Colorado lifestyle.  Between the 12-18 month wait from our choice local breeder and our (my) guilt over not choosing a rescue dog, we decided in early January to start our hunt at the local Humane Societies.  On Thursday, January 21, we headed down to Boulder to visit a dog we saw posted on their website, Bingo.  

Due to Covid-protocol you had to register online and wait in the parking lot until to be called in.  After entering and sanitizing we spoke to the attendant through the Plexiglass protective divider and described the type of dog we were looking for-young (puppy through about 2 years), active but on the mellower side, and maybe not super barky. Also cat friendly.  Bingo was not that dog.  We ended up having an outdoor meet and greet session with Huffinz, a 7 month black lab mix with a lot of energy and a nerve-jangling relationship with an electronic ball. He was fun and cute and trainable though so although he already had a 24 hour hold on him we put a second hold for ten dollars and headed home knowing we probably wouldn't see him again.  We knew his first hold took him when we didn't hear from the shelter by the next afternoon.  On Friday we made a reservation for 12:30 on Saturday to look at some local shelter picks.  The large shelter was mostly empty because pet adoptions have been high during Covid with people stuck at home and out of their normally busy routines.  After walking around we ended up with three dogs on our shortlist.  Two were out of the running immediately due to other holds and limitations, but we were able to visit with two year old Toby, a 94 pound black lab mix who was sweet and mellow, but had not been cat-tested by the shelter yet, which was required in order to process adoption to a home with a resident cat.  We asked if they could fast-track the cat test that same day, and they said yes and we needed to stay there while it was completed.   He didn't pass.  Dejectedly we headed home dogless. 

After these two Humane Society experiences we again debated registering with a breeder or applying with a local rescue.  After lots of internet research, reading, and indecision, we applied with a breeder that had 7 or 8 adorable "adoptables" listed on its page.  Later that week we received an email that our application was in process and we should let our references know they could expect a call that day or the next.  The call never came to either of our references.  The cute puppies were all adopted out by that Friday.  The rescue transported 16 puppies from out of state Friday night into Saturday and by Sunday they started "popping" with Parvo until the rescue became completely overwhelmed treating and saving all 16 pups throughout the following week.  It has been 3 full weeks since we applied and we still haven't heard a word, even after a check-in email two weeks in.  I was feeling very disappointed.  Then last Tuesday, February 9, I decided to apply with a different rescue located North of us in Loveland, CO.  They had two possible cuties on their website.  I received an email from them Thursday afternoon that the puppies we had been interested in had been adopted.  On Friday or Saturday, a new pup appeared on their page. He was listed as a sibling of one of the pups we originally wanted to meet.  On Sunday afternoon, I sent an email to see if we could meet him.  We had a Zoom meeting an hour later and scheduled a face to face meet for the next afternoon about three hours after the Zoom.  We were in! Maybe this third pup would be the charm!

On Monday morning the kids and I headed to the pet store for some gates and treats.   Since it was President's Day we had no schoolwork.  We couldn't find a kennel crate so we prepped the van by lowering a middle row seat and hoped we would find one at the Petco where we were scheduled to meet Link (the name given by the rescue).  Monday afternoon we loaded up the car (grandma and grandpa  included) and headed up to Loveland through some beautiful rural farmland.  We emailed upon our arrival and were invited to come in.   Link was adorable and shy, sticking to his caregiver mostly and hiding behind furniture.  We noticed he liked to be next to a wall.  She explained more about his background and care, and after about 25-30 minutes we decided to move forward with the adoption process!

The kids had discussed names and pretty much decided on Oreo. I had suggested Tex and Onyx (Nixie) but I felt we should go with the name they picked since they agreed fairly quickly and it was our first family dog. 

I read through the adoption paperwork while Derek and Owen went out to look for a crate, then I paid his adoption fee and the caregiver offered to help them assemble the crate in the car.  We took a group picture and then she gave us a blanket and mouse toy to take with us, plus a pint sized Ziploc of Chicken Soup for the Soul Puppy Food.  On the way home, everybody enjoyed talking to him and he relaxed in the crate pretty quickly.  The kids cuddled me in the third row and Owen asked me if he could carry him in the house when we arrived. 

Oreo was now part of the family.