If your thinking of getting a new dog don't miss the opportunity of visiting your local SPCA. They hold many dogs and other animals that would love to have a forever home. Yes, it is a big decision especially if they are older dogs but some of these older dogs don't have much chance of getting adopted as most people would rather have that little cute puppy but we know from experience there are gems in older dogs just waiting to go home with you.
We adopted our American Cocker Spaniels from the SPCA after many weeks of wondering if we could handle two of them. Being a little up in age and away from home, living in a 17 ft. camper, it was a big decision for us and after many weeks of visiting them we decided to go for it and give it a try. We love dogs and cats and had owned an American Cocker for twelve wonderful years but alas, her poor body finally gave out and broke our hearts when we had to get her put to sleep. Now we were bringing home two dogs that were three years old and we really didn't know what kind of temperament they had. They had been in the shelter since January and it was now June. They were brothers and could not be adopted separately.
We brought our “boys” home in June not quite knowing how we were going to manage but they were so good that it wasn't much of a problem. We did different shifts at work so there was someone there with them all the time. Oh, I didn't mention we also had a cat, who up to that point, thought she was the only one in our world. We were expecting big problems, never the less home they came with us. The cat was placed in her cage for a few days and let out periodically until both dogs and the cat got use to the idea that they would both be living in the cramped quarters we were living in. That part proved to be not a big problem and soon the cat and both dogs had the freedom of all the17 feet of space we had.
The “boys” were taken for a walk two or three times a day and we all soon fell into a routine of work, walks and feedings. The summer passed quickly and the time came for us to fly home. This was cause to send my blood pressure on bust! We had to get two dogs and a cat to the airport and make sure they were as comfortable as they could be for the trip ahead. We finally got them settled with much help from the airline attendants and boarded the plane ourselves. Of course we worried all the way home ( 5000 miles) if the boys and the cat were doing okay. We finally arrived twelve hours later and were reunited with all the family and they were very happy to see us, or maybe it was just happiness to be off the plane.
We finally arrived home and settled in. This is when the boys true colors started to show through. They are very loving dogs but seem to take offence to anyone that knocks on our door. They bark and jump all over anyone that comes in which I am working on but it is difficult as they get in that zone and I don't exist for the moment. Our cat has become part of their pack and they get along wonderfully. They now have all the freedom they want and take daily walks down to the fisherman's wharf, they have been berry picking, where I ran into a bit of a problem when they found out the berries I was picking were eatable. They follow me everywhere and stay with me no matter what I'm doing which in some cases is not the best thing that could happen, for instance when I started painting my living room it didn't work out very well to step off a ladder with two dogs waiting at the bottom. They love car rides and know which of our friends, that visit, will take them for a ride. They are everything we could have wanted in a dog except for a few little quirks, like the barking and sleeping on the bed ( which is another story) but they have wrapped their paws around our hearts and we feel blessed to have them (with the exception of some of our visitors who wouldn't agree). Never the less they are here to stay and they are “our boys”. So before you get your dog give the SPCA a visit first your forever dog could be waiting there for you.
