Looking for a friend (of the four-legged variety)

Today marked our second consecutive weekend we spent looking for a dog to add to our family. As a family, we've been looking to adopt a rescue dog since the end of November/beginning of December. We've held off getting a dog for Christmas (we knew we would be traveling during the holidays) and during the month of January (Air Boss would be away on business for almost two weeks and I didn't want to figure out how to "work a dog" while he was away).

Now that we're planning on staying put for awhile, our dog search has ramped up. We've--I guess it's been primarily me--been combing through PetFinder.com and even Craigslist to see what is out there. In addition, I've been looking into different breeds to see what would be most compatible to our lifestyle (i.e. which dogs don't shed, don't gnaw, don't poop, and don't require more exercise than walking from dog bowl to bed and back). Alas, I'm still looking for that elusive dog . . .

Kidding aside, we've narrowed our choices and started checking out websites. I've made several phone calls and inquiries about specific dogs. We were believing that doggie would be coming home with us last weekend that we bought the biggest Costco-sized doggie bed and threw it in the back of our Blackhawk van. 'Shroom and Lolli had a blast riding through Costco in the big over-sized shopping cart on a doggie bed.

No dog. Our top two dogs were already adopted.

Today, I told the kids that if we don't find a dog today (Saturday is a popular day to find adoption events at local pet stores), we may need to postpone the doggie search for another month or so. Even though we don't have any trips planned, I'll be starting a new job soon and I don't want to add a changing schedule to a newly-adopted-possibly-high-strung-dog.

Two adoption events, a trip to a local county shelter, and a phone call to a foster home yielded no dog. It was a tough day emotionally as we came very close to closing an adoption. At the local shelter, we had spent close to a half-hour with Shelly, a four year old shepherd/lab mix, in a private enclosed yard. As Air Boss and the kids stayed behind to continue playing with Shelly, I went to the office with checkbook in hand ready to close the deal.

As the paperwork was about the be processed, I had inquired about the reason why Shelly was turned in by her owner. A form was produced which the previous owner had filled out. To my dismay, I read that she was an outdoor dog, does not walk well on a leash (I figured this out), had no training (figured this out too), and could not be trusted to be indoors. My heart sank. I don't have the confidence to untrain 4 years of habits and retrain a dog. It was a no-go for me and for Air Boss (after I showed him the paperwork). Shelly was our third choice at the shelter (previous two had adoptions pending).

After we walked around a bit more to see if we could find another dog (as expected, no new dogs had been turned in during the 30 minutes we were with Shelly), I remembered I still had an ace up my sleeve. I had been provided the name and number of a woman fostering two beautiful huskies.

As I suspected, the foster mom would only adopt them to a family willing to take the pair. I think adopting one dog is already enough of a big change to our non-dog family. Air Boss and I weren't feeling up to the challenge in taking in two very active dogs.

Five hours after we saw our first dog of the day, we were finally heading home with no dog for our doggie bed. 'Shroom started crying in the car and his tears showed the disappointment for all of us. When we got home, he took out his bucket of dinosaur bones (which I had made him clean up before we left so that they wouldn't pose a choking hazard to our dog), and dumped the contents all over the floor. "I don't care if I make a mess because we're never going to get a dog!" he cried as he--well, made a mess.

Right now, he's sleeping in his bed with his stuffed friend, Teddy, who is a Webkins pug (complete with a real dog collar). Lolli has been dealing with her disappointment in a different way but it's just as present for her as it is for 'Shroom.

For now, I'm going to lay low on the dog search. It's been so disappointing for the kids--I didn't realize how much I've gotten their hopes up. In the meantime, we're a dog-less family with an empty doggie bed. Maybe we'll use it as a big floor pillow while we watch the Superbowl tomorrow. =/

Sunday, 2/6/11 Update:
This morning, 'Shroom woke up and drew himself this picture. He's been carrying it around all day today. It's a picture of the dog he'll have one day.