Cat Lover Adopts Dog from Animal Shelter

Having always been a cat lover, owning a dog was a new experience for me. I surprised myself and my family when I announced I had a dog. This happened after I found a dog in the street and had him taken to the dog warden in hopes of finding its owner. After no one claimed him, I took him home and began my new life as a dog owner. A year went by and after two dog obedience classes, I was proud of my dog passing the Canine Good Citizen test, and finally felt I knew how to take care of a dog. Little did I know that another dog was destined to join the family soon.

One day while at the pet store with my dog one of the local animal shelters had several dogs and cats there available for adoption. Being an animal lover, I stopped and glanced at the animals. My dog, Teddy Bear, spotted the dogs and one of the dogs in particular seemed to be getting along well with Teddy Bear.

One of the animal shelter workers remarked how well they were getting along and asked if I wanted to take the dog for a short walk. Surely the animal shelter dog could use a little walk, no harm in that I figured. As it took six weeks in a dog obedience class to teach my dog to walk beside me without dragging me, I was amazed at how easily the animal shelter dog walked with me and Teddy Bear. After the short walk, I returned the dog to the animal shelter worker. She remarked how the two dogs looked like they belonged together, and asked if I wanted to think about adoption? I told her thank you, but absolutely not; it had taken me a year to finally learn how to take care of my first dog. Teddy Bear and I left and went home, and that was the end of that, or so I thought.

After I arrived home, I kept thinking about that animal shelter dog and how happy Teddy Bear looked playing with him. Then thoughts of how lonely Teddy Bear must get while I worked crept into my mind, and yet another thought of how much Teddy Bear would enjoy some company while I was working. I kept telling myself no - one dog was enough. The mental image of those two dogs together was absolutely overpowering. I remembered as we were leaving the pet store hearing a lady say how adorable that dog was and she might just have to have him. In a panic, I called the pet store to see if the animal shelter workers were still there and if "my" dog was still there. He was still there, so Teddy Bear and I went over, signed the animal shelter adoption papers and headed on home together. I told the animal shelter workers I had never had two dogs before, and they gave me some tips and said to call them at any time if I had further questions or concerns - what a relief to hear that.

I was a little concerned about the new dog and the cats, as I had to very slowly introduce Teddy Bear to them. The animal shelter worker believed the new dog may have been around some cats, so we would see. After arriving home, I held onto the new dog's leash tightly in case he decided to made a mad dash towards the cats. Much to my surprise, after we got in the house the new dog barely glanced at the cats and walked by them as if there were a perfectily natural site to see. Adopting an animal shelter dog has been an extremely rewarding experience in my life.

Adopting an animal from an animal shelter is an excellent way to find that perfect pet ready to love and be loved in a new home.