There is Payoff at the End

It started almost eight years ago. Having adopted Georgia the cocker spaniel and having fallen completely in love with her, I wanted to help other dogs like her find someone who would fall in love with them, too. I decided that I should contact the Cocker Spaniel Rescue in Houston about whether they needed any help in the Austin area. I new nothing about dog rescue, had really only owned one dog on my own in my entire life and I thought I knew most of what I needed to know. I also thought that being so cute, cockers probably only showed up in the shelter about twice a year and I could handle that. What you should note here is that whenever I mention the words “I thought I could handle” in a sentence, the next few paragraphs are going to be explaining in detail how completely wrong I was)

The Houston folks put me in contact with a guy in Austin-- so it’s this guy and me and one other woman trying to start up a fledgling little rescue for cocker spaniels. We had zero clue what we were doing. It went slowly, but kinda OK for about the first three months. And then out of the blue the guy calls me and tells me that he’s moving out of state and would I take over? As in, be the boss. Director. Sucker In Charge. And THAT, my friends is how I went from being your friend with a normal owner/pet relationship, to someone who hasn’t put her toilet paper on the actual holder in several years because everyone knows dogs shred toilet paper and I’M TIRED OF CLEANING THAT UP.

In the 8 years since, I’ve seen the group grow from 2 people, to almost 30. We’ve rescued over 600 dogs. I’ve gone through sleepless nights and stumbled my way through situations I never could have dreamed I could handle. I’ve blown into the tiny nostrils of a just born puppy to make it take its first gurgly breath. I’ve cradled an elderly dog as it slipped away to a place that I hope treats it better than what it had here. I’ve had some really hilarious days and some days that I cried when a dog left my home to go live somewhere else--sometimes from relief and sometimes because I couldn’t imagine that anyone could ever love that dog more than me.

It’s been such a huge part of my every day that to be honest with you, I’m not really sure how I’m going to walk through my house for the next few months without a papertowel and a poop bag. I can’t imagine not having new fuzzy faces every month to see them blossom and meet their own loves. But yeah, it’s a done deal. I’m finishing up with my current fosters and after the end of the year, I’m no longer going to be your crazy dog lady friend. To make up for this, I’m making the transition to your crazy hormonal pregnant lady friend—- now serving powdered donuts and tabasco sauce! Yes, that’s right, you loyal readers who have made it this far down the page, Sam and I having a puppy of our own. We’re hoping for just two legs though. Two legs, two arms and 10 fingers. And god help me, please don’t let it chew on the sofa or eat poop. The pupster will be arriving early spring. We’ll keep you posted.

Was that enough payoff for ya?