Lately, I’ve been pining for another dog. It seems to be that I experience the infamous ‘two-year-itch’ not in relationships, but with animals. We owned Holly for two years and one month before we adopted Truman. In turn, we’ve had Truman for twenty-three months. Now, for the past few weeks, my heart has been yearning for another pet.

On the Saturday following Black Friday, two local rescue organizations hosted two different Adoption Days. Somehow, I had managed to get the day off. My husband and I loaded up our dogs into the vehicle, and in addition to running errands, ended up attending both of these events. It was a high of -20°C that day, and felt more like -40°C. If it wasn’t for the two events, I wouldn’t have left the house.

At first, Geoffrey was against adding to our pet family. He had even refused to come inside the first Adoption Day. He sat in the vehicle with the dogs while I went inside. A few minutes later, I get a call on my cellphone, and there he was. I felt so happy. 

We bought some coffee and baking and made a donation to the organization, We All Need A Rescue. Then we walked around, played with the rescue dogs, talked to other interested individuals, and ran out to the vehicle to check on our own dogs.

I always find these events to be such an eye opening experience. I long to give each and every dog a home. Yet, considering that there were over 80 of them needing a rescue, that would be impossible.

After leaving, Geoffrey admitted that he would like another dog. I said that I wanted two more. We settled on possibly getting just one. 

New Hope Rescue’s Adoption Day was next on our list. We had attended one of their events last year. You can see that post here. It was very different this time around, and felt more like a madhouse. The greenhouse was also hosting a Christmas craft sale. It was next to impossible to actually get to see any of the dogs, but I did play with one and talk to her foster dad for quiet awhile. She was gorgeous. 

We finally made it home later that afternoon. I was exhausted and overwhelmed. I felt like we did our part in donating to these shelters, but was also feeling guilty for not being able to help them all out.

The next day, I went to the SPCA Shelter to take one more look. Of all the organizations that we had just seen, the SPCA is the one that makes me feel the most guilty and sick to my stomach. Here, they do not have foster homes, and the animals look incredibly on edge in their little cells that are often dirty. I did fall in love with a beautiful girl named Cora that was ready to go home that day. However, until our house is completed, we can’t adopt anyone just yet.

After being hit with the reality that we aren’t quite ready to take in another animal, coupled with the fact that I wouldn’t know which one to choose, I’m beginning to come to the realization that maybe my two-year-itch will have to go unfulfilled. Truman is finally out of his puppy stage, and Holly probably doesn’t have many more years ahead of her. Right now, our lives are bordering on contentment. Do I really want to change that? (Yes, I do!)

In the meantime, and until we are ready, I’ll just keep donating to these shelters. 

<3

Emory