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| Enjoying some awesome Portland weather at the park. |
Exactly one month ago, my fiancé, Vince and I made the decision to adopt a dog. We had been talking about it for a while, and since we were moving into a new apartment that allowed pets of all sizes, we made the decision to expand our baby family to include a member of the canine variety. We had browsed the various websites of all the rescues and animal shelters around us, and while all the dogs sounded sweet and perfect, none seemed like the perfect fit for us. Our friends knew of our quest for a great dog, and graciously helped out by forwarding us all sorts of adoptable dogs, and one dog in particular caught our eye. She was a precious brown pit bull named Tippi at Family Dogs New Life Shelter. She was the perfect size, was crate trained, did well with cats, dogs, and kids, and just seemed like a sweetheart. I decided to go visit the shelter the next day to meet her.
I took a good friend of mine with me to the shelter, to have a second opinion and sounding board, as Vince had other plans for the day. Before we parted ways, though, Vince told me that I had permission to adopt the little brown pittie if I loved her, because he knew any dog I loved, he would love as well. At Family Dogs, we told the woman behind the counter we were interested in Tippi and her face lit up. She told us that Tippi had been adopted by a family four months earlier and they had returned her recently. I decided that despite their returning her, I wanted to meet her anyways and make my own judgement. We waited in a little room and a shy, unsure dog met us a few minutes later. Tippi was so scared that she wouldn't even stand up fully, and instead chose to cower in the corner. With soft voices, a few yummy treats, and lots of pets, my friend and I were able to help Tippi feel a bit more comfortable with us. I fell in love with her, hard and fast. It doesn't take much for me to like a dog, but there was something about the little espresso colored cutie that had me enamored the first time she gazed up at me. I called Vince and told him we needed to adopt her, but that he should meet her as well. I, unwillingly, left to go pick him and up, and an hour later, she was ours.
That was the easy part. The trials of owning a dog, let alone an unsure dog, really hit us full force. There were a few moments where I wondered if we had been too hasty in our decision to adopt, or questioned if she would ever feel genuine affection for us. As we come out on the other side of the past four weeks, I can safely say that there are no longer any questions about her love for us or if we made the right decision.
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| Tippi loves the Timbers! |
