Lottie Mae. Found malnourished, without adequate food and water, with nine puppies to care for, this girl lucked out and ended up in a foster home through the SPCA. Her puppies went to separate foster placements, and all are doing wonderfully thanks to some loving volunteers. The puppies will be up for adoption soon.
I first saw Lottie on a video on the SPCA's facebook page, where she wagged her tail so hard that her whole body wiggled. Something about her just captured me. I showed the video to Ron and to Chloe, shared her picture with them later in the week, and reminded myself of all the reasons why we're not ready for a dog.
My heart though, my heart was ready.
Finally, sick of my obsession with her, Ron commented on facebook, "Just get her already before I have to watch this video again." That was enough for me. A quick phone call to him and I was ready to drive to the SPCA and bring Lottie home.
Luckily, Chloe called me before I left. When I mentioned to her that I was going to go and look at Lottie, and maybe adopt her, she was not happy. At all.
All along, since Gracie died, our plan has been to let Kayla live out her senior time in peace, as our only dog. She's a happy girl, but pretty frail, with back leg muscles that are slowly wasting away, and she's deaf too. When our friends got a puppy, we brought him over here briefly to introduce him to Kayla, and to see if she could tolerate a little one. I was very proud of Kayla's patience and gentleness with that little guy, but she clearly wanted him to leave. Immediately.
Somehow, in my mind, Lottie, three years old and house trained, would be different. Maybe even a friend for Kayla.
Chloe, though, felt otherwise...not just heartbroken that it would hurt Kayla, but also sad that we would get an adult dog instead of a puppy, which she desperately wants. Mostly, Chloe was disappointed in me. So upset and hurt that I would make such a big decision without asking her, without even thinking of her really. And my daughter was absolutely right. In my falling in love with that dog in the video, I didn't think of Chloe's feelings, not truly, and once I realized it, I felt horrible.
Raised by a very strong mother, I've always prided myself on being independent. I was taught to take care of myself, to not depend on anyone, to be strong and sure. It was very tough for me when Ron and I first got together, because I was so used to doing everything my own way. We had some pretty intense fights as I worked through that and learned to let him in.
Now, once again, I have a new way of thinking to learn. And this time, it needs to include my girl. Sometimes it's easy to forget that she's not little anymore, that she needs to be included in decisions that affect our family, that her input is crucial. Time goes by so quickly, and that baby of mine has grown up in so many ways.
She's certainly grown up enough to teach her Mama yet another lesson.
When Kayla is gone and we decide it's time to adopt a puppy, we'll be doing it as a family.
And, Lottie Mae? She had already found her forever home, complete with two boys to love her, before I even decided to drive to the SPCA that day.
Happy endings all around.
You have to admit though, she is one cute wiggly dog:)
"Now, once again, I have a new way of thinking to learn. And this time, it needs to include my girl. Sometimes it's easy to forget that she's not little anymore, that she needs to be included in decisions that affect our family, that her input is crucial."
ReplyDeleteSo true, and so easy to forget! Thanks for the reminder. It seems like parenting lessons pop up in the most unexpected places sometimes....