Adopting a Puppy: A New Member of the Family

When my husband and I bought our house, we experienced a sense of security, a sense that we finally had some permanence in our lives. With that sense of security, we decided that it was time to add a new member to our family: a dog.

We've lived in our home for about three and a half months now and live in a nice, quiet neighborhood. One day while driving down our street on our way home, we noticed that a house on the corner had puppies in a sort of cage out on the lawn. They were out there every day, often with visitors stopping by. Greg and I often thought about stopping to look, but didn't want to be intrusive.

One day, my mother, who lives with us, decided to take a stroll up there to meet the puppies and found out that they all needed homes. The woman who lives there is involved in Northern California Beagle Rescue and had taken in a pregnant bitch, who started giving birth four hours after they got her home! How could we resist? Greg and I had to go see the little darlings for ourselves.

There were eight puppies, which appear to be a Beagle/Daschund cross-maybe even with some Chihuahua mixed in. There were two that had Beagle coloration, one short hair and one long hair, and the others had Daschund coloration. Our favorite was "Whitney," so called because she "came out singing," the short-hair that looked like a tiny beagle. She had tri-color markings, sweet soulful eyes, and those adorable big, floppy ears! They were all cute and sweet though, climbing over each other to meet their visitors. All enjoyed being held and cuddled. After about two minutes, Greg and I knew that we just HAD to have a puppy!

The Adoption Process

There has been a lot of talk lately of Ellen Degeneres and her recent run-in with a dog rescue organization, Mutts and Moms. While there are some mitigating factors that indicate that the rescue organization in this case may have been in the wrong, I'd like to give a little background on rescue in general as well as my experience.

Many dogs who are adopted, especially from animal shelters, end up right back at the shelter again. Often the person who takes the dog didn't realize what it would be like to take care of one, or the dog just didn't fit into their household for any number of reasons. While it is better that the dog finds a home where it is happy and loved, returning it to a shelter puts its life in danger once again. Rescue organizations like Northern California Beagle Rescue strive to find the right match for each dog, hopefully the first time, so that they never will be in danger again. They also spay or neuter the dog to make sure that it won't produce any more unwanted puppies, and bring it up to date on all shots and vet care that it might need. This philosophy is similar with other animals, such as horses, cats, and rabbits. Anyone who takes in a dog from any rescue organization will have to sign an agreement stating that they will abide by the terms and conditions set forth by the organization.

When Greg and I decided that we wanted one of these delightful Beagle mix puppies, we were not allowed to just walk away with one. We had to submit an application, giving the rescue organization some background on why we would be good puppy parents. We were then given a telephone interview with the foster mom, who asked my husband a variety of questions about his views on training, experience with Beagles, and who would take care of the dog every day. Luckily, my mom works very limited hours, so our puppy is rarely left home alone for longer than an hour or so at a time. With a puppy, NorCal Beagles is adamant that puppies are not left home alone for hours on end every day.

At the end of the interview, Susan told Greg that not only was she was approving our application, but she was giving us our first choice of the litter! We had wanted Whitney, despite the warnings of her penchant for singing, and she would be ours!

The next step in the process was to have a "sleepover." This is a two-week trial period during which the puppy and her new parents decide if they enjoy living together and are meshing well as a family. We gave the rescue a $300 check for the adoption fee, which they hold until the trial period is over. This fee helps the rescue pay for shots and vet care, so the puppy is completely up to date when she is adopted, and we felt it was well worth it!

We optimistically renamed our puppy Maggie (not being fans of Whitney Houston or the type of person she is) and bought her lots of toys to play with and a play pen to sleep in (which lasted exactly one night). She settled right down like she had always been there. She has bonded with everyone in the family, although the cat is still pretty leery of her!

After the two-week trial is over, our adoption paperwork will be completed and our check will be cashed. We'll also receive her shot records and spay certificate at that time. We feel very optimistic that come October 30th, our darling little Maggie will officially become a permanent member of our family!