Just to clarify, the puppy in yesterday's post is not our dog. It's a stock photo, people. I'm a good photog and all -- but not that good. (Although my friend Gail does say I have a gift...)
We went to visit three dogs today at Gay's house in Weston. Gay is, for lack of a better term, our dog adoption facilitator. She's been doing animal rescue for something like 25 years and knows everyone in this vast, underground network. She's put in dozens and dozens of hours trying to find us a Golden and has been so frustrated by the experience she's about to throw in the rescue towel altogether.
We've applied to many, many Golden rescue groups and been rejected by, let's see, all but one! Here are some of the reasons we're not qualified:
1. We're installing an invisible fence instead of a standard fence. Many rescue groups do not approve of this. No dog for you!
2. My children are under age 10. They don't like that. (Yeah, 'cause it's so rare that a family with a dog would have kids under 10. And Goldens are known for their viciousness.) No dog for you!
3. We live in a different state than the rescue group. They need to come to my house, inspect my laundry room, check my banking records and look under my bathroom sink. No dog for you!
4. We've never owned a dog before as adults. Despite the fact that Jarv and I both grew up with Goldens doesn't count. Clearly, we don't know what we're doing. No dog for you!
5. We weren't willing to fly the entire family to St. Louis to be interviewed by some guy who won't release any of "his dogs" to people he hasn't personally vetted, even if we've been vetted by a long-time, well-respected golden rescuer in Connecticut. No dog for you!
After a while, it started getting embarrassing. And exhausting. No one found us to be suitable applicants. I find it a little ridiculous and hypocritical. The animal rescue community is constantly moaning about how many dogs are being killed in shelters every hour and that we need to adopt, not buy from puppy mills. And here we were, ready and eager. I think I'm safe in saying we're no bigger bozos than anyone else, but the rescue groups would rather leave a dog to die in a shelter than let us adopt one. How pathetic could we possibly be?
Just as we were about to give up, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. And the light was in... New Jersey. Will tell you more tomorrow.
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