Finding a Dog to Love

We recently moved (again!). After a year in a delightful townhome with grounds home to a herd of deer, we decided to seek out a pet-friendly, less expensive alternative and downsize a bit.

The day we made the decision, we found the place—a nice two-bedroom townhome in a rather large apartment complex near the Willamette River southeast of downtown Corvallis. We had regrets about leaving the deer, but somewhere inside a dog was letting us know it needs us, so it was time to move on. June was a whirlwind of granddaughter graduation, another granddaughter's wedding, a big garage sale, weeks of moving stuff we wouldn't have room for to a storage unit, and weeks of packing.

About a week before the actual move, I was gazing out my upstairs office window, when I noticed something in the grass. A brand new fawn! How can I bear to leave this? I thought. And again a few days later when a doe trotted past our living room window trailed by twin fawns cavorting on their spidery little legs.

But then it happened.

All month we had been enjoying a container rosebush profusely blooming on the patio. Ray had planted herbs and flowers, and two pots contained the special treasure of two heirloom tomatoes brought to us as seedlings by friend Amy.

One morning about four days before our move, Ray went out to discover the deer had come down on the patio and eaten our lovely rosebush and nibbled off the tops of our tomato plants. It had been a very cool Spring, and the tomatoes were just taking off and showing us some real growth and a blossom or two.

The next day, even more was nibbled away, and more the day after that. My love affair with the deer had ended. We still said "awwwwwwww" every time the fawns gamboled by with their mom, but the bloom was off the rose. Two days later we moved into our new, more urbane digs.

And today we began our search for a dog to love.

Our first tour of the local humane society was disappointing. The majority of the few dogs we saw there were either withdrawn completely or very wary. A couple were even fearfully aggressive. Only one, Sadie, pushed her cheek up against the kennel gate to be scratched, and it was easy to see she would be a lovely dog to love. But she wasn't OUR dog.

So over the next couple of months we will be visiting shelters and rescue organizations looking for the one dog who looks in our eyes and says, What took you so long?

I can't wait!