A few weeks ago, I thought that around this time I’d be writing a blog post about the joys and challenges of owning a dog. Instead, I’m writing about the difficulties of giving one up.
We’ve been wanting and looking for a dog for a long time, visiting the Humane Society, perusing dog books, and checking out the various breeds whenever we visit Carmel (a.k.a. Dog Paradise). We attended a Dog Adoption Day at the Humane Society a few weeks ago and encountered a small, friendly, fox-like dog named Elvis. Finally, the search was over. Within two days, he was ours, with our first order of business being to change his name to Moses. Similar enough to Elvis for him to recognize the sound, and different enough to eliminate all possible references to the King.
I fell in love immediately. Never having owned a dog before, I was amazed by his constant companionship and unconditional affection. I was also overwhelmed by the amount of time and energy he required. A dog (even more so a puppy) is a lot of work for anyone, let alone two people simultaneously recovering from a massive health crisis, returning to full-time work, and transitioning back to school. Within a week, we knew it was too much.
As we gathered Moses’s toys to bring back to his foster home, we cried at the thought of losing such a happy little guy. Even though we only had him for a week, we already bonded with and cared deeply for him, and it was so painful to admit that we just weren’t ready to give him the time and attention he needs. Saying goodbye to Moses led to the deeper realization that we are still recovering from the trauma of the past couple years, and we are not yet ready to take on an additional challenge beyond those we are already facing. Saying goodbye to Moses meant choosing God, our marriage, and our health above our other desires. As much as I’d like to own a dog right now, especially Moses, I’m just not ready for that yet.
I know Moses will find a great home though...with a face and personality like that, someone is bound to fall in love with him as quickly and easily as we did, and hopefully this time it will be a perfect fit.
