PUPPY TALES: I Accidentally Fell in Love

So, I've been a little absent because I've been more than a little sick. No big deal; just a bad cold that has had me sleeping. And sneezing. And coughing. And napping. I've been under the weather.

I was complaining to Chuck that although I have written every day, I just didn't have anything worth sharing. The only thing I've experienced is being sick, and who wants to read about that?

"How can you say that?" he asked. "We just went on an adventure!"

"Oh, you mean when I accidentally fell in love?"

It's true. I did. I didn't mean to; it just happened.

We have been looking for a dog. And while we were looking online, I noticed one of the animal shelters utilizes volunteers to walk dogs. What a great solution for me, I thought. While we are waiting to find the perfect canine fit for us, I can love on these adoptable doggies, and take them for walks. Everybody wins!

Chuck offered to take me to Anderson Animal Shelter to check it out, to see if I could see myself working there as a volunteer. I could hardly wait to go. A building full of dogs and puppies! Oh, boy!

When Chuck got home from work, we drove to the shelter together. The place was enormous, and the large parking lot was nearly full. 

Inside the building, the place was abuzz with activity. Two couples were filling out paperwork at the front desk, a young man was playing with cats in one of the cat colonies behind a glass door, families were playing with prospective pets in the two visiting rooms, and volunteers were bustling back and forth. There was a puppy pen full of roly-poly puppies in the front lobby. We finally caught a staff member's attention, and asked permission to go back to see the dogs.

Two volunteers were cleaning out the kennels. Black wet noses were peering over the tops of the walls, and curious faces looked through the gates. There were all sorts of dogs; large and small, young and old, just-weaned pups, and mamas. 

And then I saw him. 

Doesn't he look like a big ole grey Labrador retriever puppy?

He was part of a huge litter of pit bull mix puppies, coats of grey with white markings. There were so many in the bunch, I didn't even count them, but they each had the name of a planet, so maybe there were nine (or ten!) of them. 

Mercury had a chubby face and light-colored eyes, and he was almost solid grey. We locked eyes, and he kept staring at me. When he sat up, he looked at me with those big puppy eyes, and even when he flopped on the floor, he kept looking up through the gate. 

Oh, be still my heart. I wasn't here to adopt a puppy. I was just here to see about being a volunteer. But what could it hurt to just hold him?

In order to visit with an adoptable pet, one must first fill out an adoption questionnaire. Once that is turned in, one has to wait until a visiting room becomes available. So, fill out a form, we did, and wait, we did. We had already been there over an hour, and I could see Chuck was getting tired. He had worked all day, and it was past our dinner time. I knew my time was up.

I apologized to the harried staff member, and told her we would try to come back later. And then we left. 

And I left my heart...in an animal shelter, with that little wrinkled face. Yes, I accidentally fell in love with a mutt, and I just can't get him out of my brain. Or my heart.

P.S. Chuck says we can go back to the shelter so I can hold him, if I promise we won't come back home with a puppy tonight. 

That's going to be hard, but I promised.  



If you enjoyed this blog post, and you want to know how our visit went, you can read about that HERE.

MORE PUPPY TALES:

All Bets Are Off  

Furever Home  

A Two Puppy Home  

Doggone It! Have a Happy Heart Day!

Just What Kind of Dog Is Bristol? 

The Difference Is Like Night and Grey