Meet the latest addition to our crew, Tula.
That’s right folks, after seven years of complaining about not having a puppy, I adopted one.
She isn’t what I expected, much smaller in fact. But she is sweet, loves people and other dogs and is cool with sitting on my lap while I work.
What more does anyone want?
I adopted Tula from the Animal Rescue Foundation based out of Calgary. Luckily, I was headed there for the weekend for a mini vacation and could meet her while I was there.
I filled out the online application a couple of weeks ago. It was extensive. Not only did it ask if I had previously owned pets. It also asked how I planned on training the dog as well as what I would do if it bit someone.
All the while I was filling this out wondering what kind of answers they were looking for. If I was honest and good intentioned would that be good enough? Like raising kids, it seems there is a societal ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ way to raise a dog. I’ve heard stories about animal rescues rejecting applicants for saying they would crate train a dog, what would they think of me in my fairly small down town apartment?
I got an email back from Tula’s foster mom a few days later saying she thought we would be a good match. I was excited but skeptical, so I asked a million questions.
What is she like with other dogs? What is she like with other people? How much does she bark?
Turns out Tula was homeless, running with a pack of huskies, despite being much, much, much smaller than them. I like this about her, she is tiny, but she is tough.
She is funny and friendly and cuddly and quiet.
With these details I knew I wanted to meet her. So we set up a time for Saturday morning.
We spent about 20 minutes chatting with her foster family and getting to know her and then we got to take her with us for the afternoon.
One small problem — it was cold in Calgary. Bitterly cold. Not only did Tula not want to be outside, we didn’t either.
Luckily we have a friend in the city who has a dog and a great big patio.
It was great to see my potential new puppy in a different environment, where she could interact with other dogs and just play and be silly and show me what her manners were like when her foster parents weren’t around.
I only kept her for a few hours that day as we ran out of activities.
And then came the hard part, the decision.
I thought I would look at her and know right away that we were perfect for each other. I didn’t.
I thought I would know after we spent the afternoon together. I didn’t.
My friends laughed at how much I struggled with the decision.
This is why the foundation wants you to sleep on your decision, because then next morning, despite all of my waffling, I knew.
So now we are getting to know each other. She seems to like my apartment so far and she sat on my lap this morning while I typed.
We have a lot of work to do, she jumps on people when they walk in, she still thinks hands are toys and she pulls too much on her leash. But training a dog is part of the fun!
So if you see us around, stop and say hello. She will love you, I promise.
Have you ever thought about adopting a dog?
