It was about a year ago in early January. His owner had to surrender him to the animal shelter because she had cancer and wasn't able to take care of him. I had contemplated getting a dog for quite a while, but my husband was, ahem, less than excited. Our local paper posts a picture of an available shelter dog every day and I'd seen a shih tzu cross that looked like the type of dog that would fit in our house. After helping the girls' class at school, I had about an hour to kill so I thought I'd stop in and see what the procedure was and what dogs they had. I'd never even set foot in the place before and I'm still not sure why I picked the animal shelter instead heading to my usual spot, Target.
When I got to the shelter, I explained that we had 4 small kids, were thinking about a dog, and needed one that was small and kid friendly. I mentioned the shih tzu, but the young man at the desk said that an application for adoption had already been made. Then he said, "We just got a new dog in today. He's still in the vet room. It's a young spaniel, if you want to take a look." He stopped to look at some papers. "It's a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel."
My heart jumped. I didn't want to seem too eager, but I'd been in love with the breed for years, ever since seeing them on the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Over the years, I'd read about them and how they were loving, great with kids, very sociable, snuggly, and basically everything I wanted in a dog. I'd looked at breeders, but they're definitely not cheap dogs and I was leery of puppy mills. I'm a firm believer in rescue dogs and felt that a dog from the animal shelter would be a better choice so a purebred CKCS seemed like it would remain just a wish.
"Sure, I'll take a look at him," I said. As soon as I saw him, I began thinking of how I was going to convince my husband. Oliver was *sweet*. He came over, licked my hand, gave me the big puppy eyes, and I was done. I petted him, held him in my lap, texted a picture to my husband, then made the call. It went something like:
Me: I think I found a dog
Husband: We don't need a dog
Me: I know, but he's perfect. He's a Cavalier. (Husband is very familiar with my love of these)
Husband: We still don't need a dog.
Me: <pause> I'm bring him home.
I filled out the form, including 3 references, and by the time I'd gotten back over to school to pick up #2 (#3 was home sick that day), the shelter had called and said that my application had been approved. #2 and I stopped at Target (see, I ended up there anyway!) and I headed to the pet aisle to get supplies. #2 was fairly confused about why we would be buying dog food until she realized we were really getting a dog!
We picked up Oliver and headed home. His sojourn at the shelter had lasted just 2 hours between the time he was dropped off and when he came home with us. On the way home, I mentally prepared for the second hurdle- my mom. She lives with us, helps with the kids, and has never been a huge fan of animals in the house. So here I come with a house dog. Surprise!
Fortunately she didn't pack up and leave:) Oliver charmed her, as well as #3 and #4, and #1 could barely believe we had a dog even when he sat on the couch.
Long story slightly less long: getting a dog past the puppy stage is fantastic. He was basically house-trained, walks well on a leash, and has no really annoying habits other than barking at any and all dogs (including cartoon ones) or anything that looks like a dog on TV. He's "Mom's dog". Dad tolerates him, the kids love him although he's a little wary of them, but he worships me. He sits outside my bedroom door waiting for the chance to slip in, lies under my desk, and would ride anywhere in the truck with me. Basically, he follows me around like a puppy dog. He makes it impossible to not talk to people when I have him with me. He loves going to pickup at school and getting petted by all the kids' friends, although they do have one little friend from Korea who thinks of dogs like we'd think of a pet rat or snake. She's warming up a bit, but I do wish I had a picture of the look on her face when Oliver licked #3!
So here's my PSA for the day: Don't think you can't find your perfect dog at a shelter :)
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