Somebody save me! I can’t stop looking at dogs on the internet. There are just thousands and thousands of dogs out there needing a home. And I want one. But I have been a bit burned by some of the dogs I have rescued having health or behavior problems that I hadn’t planned on…How do you know its the right dog? I had seen a puppy on one of the rescue sites that seemed like he might be a good candidate. But I didn’t want to rush into anything. So I decided to spend a quiet day at home today, and to think and pray about whether this might be the right dog. Finally I decided he was the dog for me, and when I called back to make an appointment, he had already been adopted. I’m disappointed, but mostly I think that it wasn’t meant to be, and a better dog will come along.
So me and Sophie had a pretty good day at home. I got a little bit done on a few new quilting projects that I had been mulling over. And then I got a hankering to see a movie. I had seen a little advertisement for a new Meryl Streep movie, and sure enough it was playing right here in town! It was rated R, and seemed to be all about S-E-X (like Monk, I can’t say that word out loud LOL) but I thought I’d take a chance on it.
I left early enough to hit the gym (it sure feels good to WANT to exercise!) and then went to the movie. I thought it was just a great movie. Meryl Streep just did a great job, as usual. But I LOVED that she looked her age. Still beautiful, but a realistic 60. A vital, desirable, energetic 60. She was creative, funny, fun, and they even had a scene with her running! There was a hilarious scene where she checked out plastic surgery and went running out of the office. She had great women friends. And the S-E-X scenes only showed the after, not the during. And maybe what I loved the most was that it showed how very difficult divorce is for the kids, even years after, and even when the kids are adults. Not that I have an opinion on that or any experience with that. I’m just saying…
So there you have it. A quiet day at home. But not exactly. I came home, and got stuck on the internet rescue dog sites again. I think I will have to put some barbed wire around my computer tomorrow to break the spell. Maybe I’ll go to the gym followed by a visit to the local animal shelter…
debby weighs in 
I am laughing so hard as this mightcould be the best sentence ever:
I CANT STOP LOOKING AT DOGS ON THE INTERNET.
for some reason, if taken out of context, it simply made me giggle.
HAPPY HAPPY 2010!
I knew what I wrote seemed a little weird, but I honestly never thought of it that way-you made me LOL big time this morning, Miz!
LOL I soooo know what you mean. I’ve been going through the “looking at dogs on the internet” bug since we lost our lab Danny in August. My daughter and husband would flip out whenever they saw me on PetFinder. We knew we would be getting another dog, but wanted to give it some time.
Well, our yellow lab, Bella, has been extremely depressed for months now that I finally took her to the vet 2 weeks ago and one of her suggestions was to get her a companion. That night we had a new puppy…a chocolate lab. Took him to the vet. Vet thinks he has hip dysplasia. I looked at the vet with tears in my eyes and said “you have GOT to be kidding me!!!” So we may be looking at surgery next week.
Take your time..you’ll find just the right one.
You’ll find the right pet. Or rather, the right one will find you! If I didn’t have John, I would totally be one of those cat ladies with 100 cats. Guess it is a good thing he is allergic enough to limit me.
Any pet can have behavior problems, whether it is a new puppy you raise or a rehomed one. It doesn’t always have to do with where they came from. Sometimes it just takes extra patience and a lot of training.
Have a happy new year, blog twin!
That is hilarious, my bloggy twin. Sometimes I think that if it wasn’t for the difficulty of leaving the dogs when I go to work, I would rescue a hundred dogs! (Of course, I did have four, which is a little over the top.)
Do they have support groups for people addicted to looking at dogs on the internet? “Hi my name is Debby and I can’t stop looking at dogs on the internet.” I lol’d at Mizfit’s comment because that’s what I was thinking too!
I adore Meryl Streep. I want to be like her when I grow up. 🙂
Ho ho ho. You guys have really made my day.
That is how I felt when I watched this movie. Because the character seemed like the real Meryl Streep except for the divorce. It made me want to be like that woman. Sometimes I think I am a little like that, but it made me…I don’t know. Proud, or that it was really good to be older and be like that.
is it possible that you are getting dogs from ‘bad’ sources? I don’t mean the people that had them before you – I mean where those people got them to start with – ? I am thinking of puppy mill dogs. Somewhere there is a group tht specifically deals with dogs that come from the elderly. Where the owner has something wrong with them (like owner is ill) and can’t take care of the dog any more. I wonder if you change how you are looking – if the quality of the dogs will improve.
and would you really take on the training of a puppy? when I heard that – I thought – just like having a baby (and I am SOOOOOOOOOO not thinking of having another baby. . .)
Actually, two of my rescue dogs came from elderly people–Sophie is one of them. Since I used to show dogs, I am really aware of the puppy mill thing. And I know good dog structure, so am always looking at that. Actually the main health problem I had was a dog with a SEVERE seizure disorder (uncontrollable, even with meds) and that could have happened to any dog, even one from a ‘good’ breeder. I think maybe less likely to happen with a crossbreed, which is why I am trying to talk myself into that. I do love purebred dogs. But the health problems…yikes.
Puppy…I think the same. But the thing about getting a puppy is that I get to form its character. Oliver was a very good experience, and he was the first puppy I had gotten in about 25 years. I was looking at an older puppy–5 months–which seems almost perfect to me.
Oooo, Debby, the bug has bitten! I was like this, too, when we were thinking about getting a dog. My step-dad bred Pembroke Welsh Corgis, and when he and my mom got married, I was introduced to his last Corgi, Umber. *LOVE* So I really wanted at least a part-Corgi dog. I was looking at rescue photos for months. We found our Bela through a Corgi rescue group, which posted about two dogs at the Humane Society in Santa Clara. She’s got a tail, but her features are more delicate; we think she’s part terrier, part Pembroke Welsh Corgi. She’s been a great dog for us, her only problem being a tender tummy from who knows what junk she ate while being a stray. Thank goodness for the Bissel, that’s all I can say.
Anyhow, I’m sure the right dog will come along.
Hope you have a wonderful new year, too!!!
Debby, consider doing a good deed as you search. Get involved with a local dog rescue group. There are bajillions out there with all kinds of different focuses – purebreed, mix-breed, rehoming military dogs when their owners are deployed, etc. Offer to foster dogs for them. They always need foster homes, and the foster family usually has first dibs on adoption. So if you find an animal that really clicks with you (and Sophie!) you can adopt. And even if you don’t fall in love with the dog, you are providing a home until a forever family comes along. Plus, the rescue group usually picks up the medical expenses. All you pay for is food.
It’s a win win situation!
I would love to do foster care, and it might be something I will do in my retirement, but with my work schedule, and being gone for 16 hours, I just don’t think it would work. I worry enough about my own dogs barking and bothering the neighbors while I am gone. But I agree, it is a great idea. I’m also a little afraid I would end up with 20 dogs of my own!
We got Paco the Wonder Dog from the shelter when he was about 5 months old (the vet guestimated his age based on puppy teeth) – I was all set to get a tiny puppy, but watching them pee all over and then walk through it changed my mind…I just didn’t want to go through that again, although it had been a long time.
We waited 2 1/2 months from when Jackie, our weiner dog, died, to when we got Paco…of course in between the dog dying both of my grandmothers died so it was quite a brutal time.
I have to say that Paco picked us at the shelter – after I decided against the puppies, I was looking at the dog in the cage next to him, but he came over to us, we took him in the yard to play, and he was so cute – he would fetch whatever toy I threw for him, but then he would sit down in my husband’s lap. He wanted us as much as we wanted him. I know there is another dog out there for you – I would go check out the shelters.
Boy, can you tell you have a lot of dog-loving readers!
Happy New Year, Debby!
I love Paco the Wonder Dog’s name! My first dachshund’s name was Celie, and her ‘baby talk’ nickname was ‘Telito’ (too long a story to explain where that came from) and she was the only dog I ever had who came just as well to her nickname as to her real name.
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