Meet Moose

Once upon a time, there was a man who owned a dog. He loved the dog, and took care of the dog for the first three years of it's life. Unfortunately, the man lost his job. After a year of trying to find a new job, and struggling to make ends meat, the man eventually came to terms with the fact that he needed to find a new home for the dog. The man tried to find a new home for the dog, but was unsuccessful. Eventually, facing foreclosure on his home and struggling to feed his family, the man decided to surrender the dog to a local shelter. When the man arrived at the shelter to surrender the dog, he asked the woman behind the front desk how long the dog would be able to stay there if he wasn't adopted right away, or just in case his circumstances at home should change and he found a job and could afford to come back and get the dog. The man was told that the dog would have 48 hours to be adopted, before he would be euthanized. The shelter, much like every other shelter in the area, was overcrowded with strays. The shelter is required to keep strays for 2 weeks, giving their owners time to find them. But with pets that come into the shelter that are being surrendered by their owners... well, they are not required to keep those pets for a certain amount of time, and more often than not, they are simply unable to keep them for a shear lack of space.

Hearing that, the man found it impossible to surrender his beloved family pet to the shelter. He left the shelter with his dog and sat down on a bench, and began to cry. And that's where I enter this story.

I know... I know... I need another dog like I need a hole in my head. I get it! But as fate would have it, the man saw me. And because he felt like he had nothing more to lose, he asked me if I would be able to find his dog a new home. I'll spare you all from the details and the 10,000 questions that I proceeded to ask this poor man. And I'll jump right to the part where I winded up bringing the dog home with me. Come to find out, finding a new home for a dog like this is pretty hard. He needs all his shots. He's behind on his heartworm prevention. And he needs his "male surgery." The first few days with this dog were rough, to say the least. He was scared, and sad. But who could blame him? He didn't know what was expected of him in our home, and quite honestly, I didn't know what to expect of him either. I was put in touch with a wonderful woman who organizes several local no-kill rescue organizations that find foster homes for pets just like this dog. The problem? Well, the problem is the same as the one most shelters are facing; there are way too many animals, and simply not enough space. And so, yes, you guessed it... I have become his foster parent.

The difficult part in all of this is that, day by day, my family and I continue to grow closer to this dog. He's becoming more comfortable around us. And we're seeing what a sweet boy he truly is. I'm not quite sure what will happen to him. But for now, he's here with us. I'd like to also add that I am fully aware of what happened with the last 2 animals I took in with the intention of finding a new home for; one was named Maisy (our dog that we had as a pet for 11 years), and the other was named Lid'l Lee (our cat that we had as a pet for 7 years).

What's truly sad for me in all of this is that this story is far too common. People are struggling financially. Shelters are overcrowded. Pet owners either don't take proper precautions or can't afford to get their pets sterilized, which often times results in unwanted puppies that also end up in shelters. And the shelters wind up euthanizing far too many pets. The shelter in my suburb euthanizes an average of 30 dogs a week. The shelter in the suburb right next to where I live euthanizes an average of 80 dogs a week. As a pet owner and true animal lover, those statistics break my heart. Those are just 2 shelters, in 2 small suburbs... over 100 dogs a week...

So, where does that leave us? Well, right here... growing more and more fond of this little dog as the days roll by. Isaac has even given him a new name... Moose! So everyone, I'd like to introduce you all to Moose!