We got a puppy! Because obviously that's what life needed was a little more chaos :)
Sydney has been wanting a small dog for awhile, and specifically she's been wanting a puppy. In a fit of insanity, fueled a bit by the adage "You're only as happy as your unhappiest kid" and some really tough news, I finally gave in and the search commenced. Having been a rescue family, it's really hard to figure out where to find puppies, especially if you're looking for a specific size.
We were all very clear, because Sydney constantly reminded us, that this was Sydney's decision and we were not to influence her in any way. So while I started perusing various rescues and showing her pictures, she chose which dogs she was, and more frustratingly was not, interested in. Just FYI, puppies go FAST. We met a couple earlier this month and driving over, she wisely opined that if it was her dog, she'd know. She was set on not wanting to pick a puppy just because it was there. We met two adorable little puppies, both chiweenie style, and she liked one, but didn't want to commit to it, and we'd already submitted an application for another rescue that was supposed to schedule with us later that week. So we left with the promise that they would let us know if anyone else was considering adopting her. *Spoiler alert: They did not let us know
On Wednesday I was checking Rescue #1's website at work to show off the puppy that Sydney had all but decided on, and OFC the dog was gone. A frantic text later confirmed that she'd been adopted. We still hadn't heard from Rescue #2, meaning that we'd now gone from two birds to none. Sydney was devastated, but rallied back to being confident that her dog would be obviously HER DOG.
Looking back, this is so obviously not her dog
Thursday night, Rescue #2 finally called and I completed a THIRTY MINUTE phone interview where I assured them that, yes, I have met puppies before. No, I definitely do not expect the puppy to come fully trained. Yes, there are humans in the house willing to take care of the puppy. Then she explained that there had been 26 applications for 5 puppies, and that after they phone interviews, five families would be randomly selected to come meet the puppies on Sunday. YOU GUYS. I do not have the mental fortitude for this. I am very pro-rescue but FFS. I was ready to find the closest puppy farm and throw money at this problem at this point. Also, it should be noted that ten days earlier I had not been pro-puppy. I am fully aware of how my competitiveness plays out.
So back to nail biting while we waited to find out if we'd been "randomly selected." Friday night comes and at about 8:00 pm I get an e-mail that says we were selected (followed by a clarification that we'd been "randomly selected")! The rescue asked us to come on Sunday morning at 9:30 to meet the puppies, and also said that if multiple families selected the same puppy, and all things were equal, then THOSE families would be randomly assigned. At this point my faith in the Universe was getting near fanatical.
Sunday morning, at a respectable 15 minutes early, we show up to the rescue at the exact same time that the puppies arrived. I'd assumed that we were being given timeslots, since they'd told me that the meetings would be between 9:00 and 11:00. Not wanting to impose on another family's time, we waited patiently for about 37 seconds before going in. Sydney immediately saw a puppy in the crate and declared, "That's my dog." IMMEDIATELY.
Come to find out, the meeting was for all five families together. The other adopters were lovely, and it was such a challenge to balance wanting Sydney to be able to take her dog home and not wanting to be a giant asshole. I settled on pointing out frequently how smitten she was with the specific puppy, dropping her "chronic medical condition" into several conversations, and then enthusiastically narrating how much other puppies seemed to love the other families. Imagine, "Oh my goodness! Look how she snuggled right into your neck! That's your dog. I can just feel it." We were doing great for about an hour. Sydney, C, and Averson were as charming as ever and everyone seemed to be falling in love with different puppies. AND THEN. The cutest, sweetest family that ever existed walked in. Walked in CHANTING OUR DOG'S NAME. They'd had to travel so they didn't get there at the same time we did and I'd all but forgotten there was an unknown variable. And when I say cute, I meant CUTE. Mom had on a big red bow, and it didn't look silly. They had two kids, a three year old and a seven year old, and both were sweet and well-behaved. They brought their dog, who was the ugliest, most endearing little pile of dryer lint. THEY BROUGHT THEIR ELF. We were so screwed and we knew it. But I persisted. I pointed out ALL the cute puppies. I kept handing other puppies to them. I doubled down on the chronic medical condition. And I was first in line to submit our choices.
Each family was allowed to choose up to three puppies they were interested in, so that if you didn't get your first choice you had a back up selected. I talked with Sydney about who she might choose for her second and third choice, since the odds weren't looking great, but she was adamant that she only wanted this one dog and if it wasn't meant to be, she didn't want a back up. So that's what we did. All the chips on red (aka Spot). Slowly other families left to submit their choices, and from what I overheard, we were still the only ones who'd ranked Spot. Then comes Cute Family. They huddled together to go over their rankings and after a brief conversation, all agreed that they'd made the best choices. They'd also ranked Spot #1.
Once all the families had chosen, we were told that once the puppies were assigned we could take them home right then. I think no one totally understood that, so we all had to borrow crates etc. C super helpfully started putting them all together, while Averson and Sydney went through the donated puppy clothes and toys. I took a walk. Sydney was such a champ and so mature, but everyone in the room could tell how nervous she was. Finally, the volunteers walked back in to announce the choices. The sweetest woman, who was there alone, and had taken to Sydney, sat down next to her and held her hand. It was like the puppy version of Miss America. The cute family sat across the room, hands held, while the kids excitedly whispered. And then there was a speech. The groans were implied. They said that four families got their first choice and one family got their second choice. We hadn't made a second choice, but suddenly I regretted my off-hand comment that we might be willing to reconsider. But all the worry was for nothing because right after that they announced that we'd been chosen for Spot! They hedged it by saying that they'd picked us because our kids were older, but I'm saying it was the Universe. The woman next to Syd hugged her and celebrated. Sydney (and I) cried. The cute mom was as gracious as anyone I've ever seen and immediately said to me across the room, "I'm really glad you guys got her." Then promptly whisked her toddler away before she had a tantrum. I can't overstate what a decent human she was. I hope her pillow is always cool and the puppy they took home (who was also adorable) never chews anything or poops in the house.
Sydney's face after finding out Spot was coming home with us. She was crying, I was crying, Averson was crying. I think strangers were crying.
And we came home with Spot. Who has since been renamed to "Posie Chai." She's adorable and wonderful and I don't know that I've ever seen Sydney happier. I was worried about Scout, but I think because Posie is so small, Scout doesn't feel at all threatened and instead seems more curious about what this tiny barky thing is. We didn't need to add another element of chaos to what is already a very busy house, but I'm really glad that we did.
Scout isn't sure about this tiny little creature, but she's been so patient!
Could she get any cuter?
