After several months of looking, we finally got a dog this week. We had several criteria to meet. 1) It needed to be a gentle dog to be a companion for Rob since he is stretched out in pain for some time each day in the back room. 2)I needed to be able to handle the dog as I would be the main dog-walker. 3). We needed to be able to afford the rehoming/rescue fees.
It has been an insane journey. After all the media hype about how many dogs need homes, we were shocked at how hard some places made it to adopt the dogs they had.
One place wanted us to promise to never change the address and phone number on their dogs’ microchips. Really? What if the dog ran away and they couldn’t reach us, the new owners? That didn’t make sense to us.
One person on Craig’s list wanted a $900 rehoming fee. Really? What was it? A SOLID GOLDEN retriever?
We understand that the rescue places put money into the dogs. We understand they often spay or neuter them, and get them veterinarian care when they need it. We planned to spend some money, but so many places wanted several hundred. When a dog was cheap or free, it went so quickly we couldn’t even get out to see it before it was gone. We began to make this a matter of prayer–that we could find the right dog for us.
One night, Rob searched the local county dog control/pound’s website to see what they had available right now. (He also searched several others, as he has been doing regularly). They had a couple of options available that looked good, so he ran over there on Tuesday while I was up visiting a friend to take a closer look. They were easy to work with, brought out several dogs for him to meet, accepted his application and approved him on the spot, and he brought home a dog that same day! He was so surprised that he had found the right one, and it was so easy, that he had to leave the pound and come back after he purchased some dog food! This dog was only $20. Yes, $20. She is older, very sweet and quiet, but we think she was slated for the happy hunting grounds in the sky pretty soon if she had not been adopted, and they really wanted to get her to a good home. She is a Boxer mix. We think mixed with Pit Bull, to look at her, but who knows what else. She seems to have had some training in the past, but I’m already working with her each day to learn more things. Her name is Safari, and I think we are going to be very happy with her.
We bought a large crate and she happily went into it while we were gone to church this morning. I’ve been walking her for 1-2 miles each day, broken up in shorter walks. She has not had an accident in the house and seems to be letting us know she wants out. She hasn’t been barking or chewing things. She’s been gentle with Rob, not jumping on him or pulling him over as he is unsteady. I’m not sure what they told her at the pound, but she clearly took the adage, “be a good girl for them” to heart. I’m hoping she will keep up these good behaviors. So far, I’m delighted.
We received a free vet check-up when we adopted the dog, so we will go to that on Tuesday.
I did do some other things this week to stay frugal. I cooked a lot from scratch. We were going with some friends to a potluck at the day camp where 4 of our friend’s kids attended this week. I volunteered to make the potluck food, and took plenty. I did berry-peach crisp, brownie bars, zucchini bread and taco salad, which I assembled right before we ate. I made lots of salad this week, as our lettuce is prolific right now. I made Mexican-flavored pork, using home-canned salsa verde. I’ve used or shared almost all of the pea pods from the first crop. I’m making vegetarian taco lentils to take to a friend tomorrow, and for us to eat. Rob loves them.
Speaking of Rob, he goes to the doctor for a weight check-in tomorrow. We are pretty sure he is more than 10 pounds down since last month. He’s been working so hard, and staying within the 1000 calorie/day limit the doctor set for him. It should be a fun weigh-in.
I worked in the garden several times.
Patsy gets to go swimming at an aquatic center for free with her youth group tonight after evening church. She’s excited.
Rob scored big-time at a garage sale. They were selling absolutely everything. He bought unopened peanut butter for 25c and a can of Costco chicken for 25c. He got lots of spices for 25c each. The only thing I threw away was the baking powder–it was so expired I didn’t think it would rise any more. The large container of pepper alone……several dollars worth.
We read library books and watched library movies and I took Jake to a mid-week show as part of the summer reading program. I took Michaela to a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese–she had fun with her friends. Rob took her shopping for a gift, and the stuffed animal she chose for her friends was under $10, and the girl seemed happy with it. The summer will involve more activities with Jake, as well as a few extra hours now and then, as Jake doesn’t have school. There is plenty to do that is not expensive, but still fun, as well as the chores, reading, etc. I have him do daily.
Well, I’m off to check those lentils. I hope your week goes well, and that you have a great 4th of July!
Thank you for adopting an older dog! Not very many people want older dogs but I love them. No puppy training and no chewed up shoes! She looks like she will be a great companion for Rob (and the rest of the family, of course). Congratulations on the new addition to your family.
Congratulations to Rob for losing over 100 pounds. A lot of hard work and dedication. I hope the doctors will proceed with the surgery soon, for Rob’s sake. It’s hard to live with pain and even harder for others to see their loved one in pain.
That was a great haul at the garage sale! Good job!
Even our doctor has advocated for Rob to get the surgery sooner, but the surgeon remains firm…they won’t do it until the full amount of weight has been lost. But, at least it’s starting to move in the right direction now!
Safari looks just like my Mom and Dad’s Suzie. Susie was dropped of at at the end of a the driveway at a family members house out in the country years ago. They must have told her to stay when they shoved her out of the vehicle because she sat right there for three days. Mom and Dad had lost their dog to old age a bout 6 months before and took her in and that was the best decision they ever made. She is as good as gold and a good companion for my Mom. I know exactly what you mean though about adopting a dog. A couple of years ago we took a dog from a rescue and they totally lied to us about him. He was not house broken and they had not been able to housebreak him. He preferred to do his business on carpet and if you took him outside he would not let you set him down. We gave him back but the paperwork we had to do and the snooping we had to allow was crazy. I finally looked at them and said, So he will just be a loaner dog right?’ They were rather taken aback. Around here you have to have a vet reference to adopt at most places. So, what if you have not had a pet for 30 years like us? We finally gave up on the whole thing! Even the pound has those silly rules. I am so glad you found a sweetheart dog to love. I am sure Jake will love her, too. AND WAY TO GO ROB! Have a great week!
Rob was super surprised that they made it so easy at the pound where he got Safari. He did fill out an application, but they approved it very quickly. They showed him several dogs, but Safari is one of the ones we saw on line the night before, and they really connected. They mentioned that they had had her for a while and a decision was soon going to be made about how long she would be allowed to keep looking for an owner before they had to do something different. I think the workers really could see how sweet she was and wanted her to find a home, so made it easy for Rob. And, I have to say it….who wouldn’t give a dog to Rob?
Congrats on the dog. She is beautiful. Good luck to Rob. He is looking great.
Thank you! Rob is so excited because he didn’t lose anything for a couple of months, and now he’s losing again!
I love Safari! It’s awesome when a dog’s life is saved and then is given a new home. It took us one year to find Scooter because I had to find a dog with hair, not fur due to my allergies. He has been worth the wait. Safari will give so much joy to all the people visiting your home. You have made my day.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
PS: Rob looks great!
Thanks, Jeannie! We could not be more pleased after the first week with Safari! We got a large crate, and set it up in the middle of the living room (quite the decoration!) and are training her to get in there when we leave for church and other short periods of time. She lives it so much she’s got in there on her own sometimes while we are still home! Otherwise, she’s been riding around with us in the van and I’ve been walking and walking and walking to benefit us both.
Congratulations on your new sweet pup. She seems to be the perfect match for your family. So glad you found each other. Your lentils sound good. I’ll have to check your recipes, to see if I can find it. Go Rob!
I’m going to post the lentil recipe today, hopefully. Soon, for sure. I found a lot on the internet, and kind of combined them. We really like this. There aren’t many vegetarian recipes Rob likes, so I’m happy to have found that he likes this taco filling.
Congratulations to Safari! I’m so glad she found a loving home, and I hope she will be a comfort and companion to all of you.
Congratulations to Rob on his weight loss! That is great!
We are very excited at how well Safari is working out so far. I took her for her free (because she was adopted from the pound) check up at a near-by vet yesterday, so that was good. She is older, and has stiff joints, and is still getting her skin cleared up on her back, but is in good health otherwise. The pound said she had no hair on her back down at the end, due to fleas, but a lot of that has grown back already, so the vet said to just watch and wait–hopefully, the rest will fill in soon. I’ve been trying to train her with little bitty pieces of cheese and she’s already learning things.
Wow….there are so many dogs here to be adopted and so many get put down. I live in an economically depressed area so that probably makes a difference. I adopted one from the shelter 8 yrs ago and there was no paperwork. He is a pit mix and still with me. He was about three yrs old when I got him. Your dog looks fabulous!
It’s a lot harder to adopt a dog, here. I’ve been baffled as to why, since there is constant advertising about how many dogs needs homes, and things like that. We are super happy with the new dog so far, so we are so glad we waited for the right one.
Congrats on the dog! I totally espouse the adopt don’t shop maxim, so I’m so glad you saved her life! She hit the jackpot being adopted by your family! And she’ll be such a great companion for Rob. Congrats to him on his weight loss, btw! My husband is not slim either and I know how hard it is to watch someone struggle with weight and health issues.
Looking forward to reading your lentil taco recipe!
Thanks! I got super busy today and didn’t get the recipe up, but I will as soon as I can.
Thank you so much for adopting an older dog! They are awesome. From the people I personally know that work in rescue, they are being stricter because so many people adopt, then decide too much work, not what I expected, or any other number of reasons to return them or dump them.
Way to go Rob on the weight loss!
Our new dog is working out wonderfully. Yes, I do need to squeeze at least one good walk in each day in the midst of my busy schedule, but it’s good for me, too. (I try to go at least a mile first thing in the morning, but if I can’t take the time for a whole mile, I take her out a couple of times. Sometimes it adds up to 2-3 miles, which is good for me as well as her.). Of course, we take her out briefly many other times to do what she needs to do. She has not had one accident in the house, which is wonderful to me. She doesn’t bark a lot, she is not rough with Rob, she is affectionate and friendly to everyone who has visited here, and those are things we really wanted in a dog. I agree that for us, an older dog was better than a puppy at this time.