The Search Begins

The first shelter we stopped at, King County Animal Control in Kent, we didn’t really expect to find a dog for us. They usually don’t have very many, and from looking at their website, we knew they only had one young dog (which was the age we were targeting), and it was recommended that she be an only dog, or, if going to a home with another dog, that it be male. Obviously, since June has to be our top priority, we knew that wouldn’t be an option for us.

Still, we stopped and looked. There were some cuties there, but many were strays who were still being held in hopes that their families would come get them. We walked out knowing that our dog wasn’t there.

A few days later, we went to the Seattle Humane Society shelter in Bellevue.

I’d been on their website quite a bit, and a dog I was very interested in, a beagle/pit mix, had recently been adopted. But still, they seemed to have a pretty good selection.

We walked back to the dog kennels, and we were overwhelmed. There were numerous dogs there that met our criteria, so many that we could see ourselves bringing home. We walked up and down the aisle, talking to each other, talking to the dogs, and trying to make a decision about who we would meet.

We settled on Tawny**, a year old corgi/pit mix. She is adorable. The right age, the right size, the right kind of coat, and, eventually, the right energy level. (At only a year old, all dogs have pretty high energy levels.) She had been an owner-surrender in that she’d been taken in to the vet, the vet told the owner what they owed for her treatment, and the owner walked out, leaving Tawny behind.

We sat down in the meet and greet area and prepared to get to know our new dog.

But that’s not what happened. It became obvious fairly quickly that, for the first time, the dog we chose to meet was not the dog we were going home with. Tawny had no interest in us what so ever. I don’t need a dog that’s by my side constantly, but I want one who is affection motivated. Tawny obviously was not.

She did have interest in playing tug, but her play quickly grew aggressive, and when we stopped playing, she would run and jump at our hands, with her mouth open. She never bit us, or even really grazed us with her teeth, but its still pretty disconcerting.

Tawny is a beautiful girl, but she needs a home that can focus on her socialization and her manners, one that has the time, energy, and patience to help her grow into a great dog, as I know she can be. We are not that home.

It was just about time for the shelter to close for the evening, but they agreed to let us meet a second dog. Sasha** is a 2 year old border collie/whippet mix. Right age, right size, right coat, so not the right energy level. But C has a giant soft spot for borders and whippets, so there we were. She is lovely, full of energy, but still likes head scritches.

There were concerns because she resource guards, and June has no dish respect, but…

We were uncertain. We decided against putting a hold on her, on the theory that we didn’t know, and there was no way we wanted to prevent her from finding the right home if it came along.

We left the shelter that evening having met two dogs, and not having decided to adopt either of them. We felt terrible.