This post has nothing to do with the amazing book Gone Girl I just read and reviewed below. But I liked the name and felt like it was appropriate to describe my weekend. Last September Bruce and I adopted two puppies- Hera and Helia. We were so excited to bring them into our lives and love them and train them. However somewhere along the way we got lost and couldn't figure out how to fit them in our lives anymore. We didn't have the time to dedicate to their training, we were never home, their 8 lbs of puppy turned into 40+ lbs of dog each! Life got in the way, our lives no longer could revolve around them and they became more of a burden for us. So in April we decided that after months of trying to figure it out we'd have to give them back to the rescue we got them from.
When we adopted them from Give A Dog a Home- San Antonio we did so with the understanding that if we ever had to give them up, move and couldn't take them, or something else prevented us from keeping them, then they would go back to the rescue and not to a shelter. So we waited 3 months in order to keep that agreement, the rescue wasn't able to take them at first and it was frustrating for us because we had made the very hard decision to give them up and seeing them everyday after that decision was made kept making me rethink if we were doing the right thing.
In mid-May my mom suggested maybe she and my grandma take in the little red one, Helia, she was our special-needs puppy and had some serious learning deficits, but was overall the calmer of the two and the younger. Bruce took her over to my mom's where she started acting like the wonderful dog we knew she could be. She has lots of other puppy friends there to play with and doesn't stay cooped up in puppy jail or outside all day, she's a lounger and now gets to lounge inside in the Air Conditioning.
This past Saturday Give a Dog A Home was finally able to take Hera back and I was dreading it all week. I knew it was coming but was not prepared for how it was going to make me feel. All day Saturday I had a horrible feeling in my tummy and would all of the sudden break out crying about her leaving! Around 3 that afternoon I met two girls who were going to take her to the rescue and I'm pretty sure they think I'm a basket case cause I couldn't stop crying. I still feel completely terrible and awful about the whole situation and can only hope she finds a good home quickly- since I know Helia already has one.
I don't think we were the worst puppy parents by any means, but their life didn't consist of enough human interaction, they mostly kept each other company. Outside playing, and escaping frequently, or inside in their puppy jail- an area I blocked off in the entrance of our house. I knew they could get more attention from people who didn't work weird hours, till 2 AM some days and who were gone all weekend- most weekends.
So now Hera is gone, I get sad whenever I look outside and don't see her anxious face waiting to come in, or when I woke up this morning for work and didn't have to let her outside and feed her. Sookie the Viking Kitty is of course thrilled to have her house back and we'll hopefully be adopting another kitty soon. Cats we can do, they take care of themselves and don't require as much parenting.
I know we did the right thing for Hera, but I'm still so disappointed it didn't work out, I feel like a puppy mom failure and now promise to never ever get a puppy again. I hope she finds a fabulous family who loves her.
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