# Oh,	Crumb



## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

I am sitting in a coffee shop, waiting for my husband and son to come down to the animal shelter to meet an 8-9 week old male GSD puppy. 

I should never have come down. I told myself I just wanted to make sure the shelter knew there was a safety net if the puppy needed it. I actually left the shelter without touching the puppy, but only got to the parking lot before I turned around and went back in and asked if I could spend a few minutes with him.

He is a cutie. His coat is pretty crappy. Amd he looks like he is a liver. Brought in as a stray and never claimed. I am not set up for a puppy. I am on a wait list for a breeder I really like. This is crazy.

But I keep thinking that we lost Jackson to hermangiosarcoma one year ago this Sunday, and maybe this puppy, at this time, isn't a coincidence. Jackson was a pound puppy, too.

I am so conflicted. Shouldn't I be sure that I want to raise a puppy right now? I have been so content to ride my horse, garden and read. I was planning on a well bred baby in a year or so. Not an unknown puppy now. Everybody and their brother is going to want him. I had a woman stop me in the hall as I was carrying him up to the front fesk after playing in a get to know room. She thought I worked there and wanted to know if puppy was available for adoption. It doesn't hurt his cute factor that one ear is up and leaning and the other is almost up. I don't need to "save him". He'll get adopted easily.

He happily retrieved my car keys. Can you all imagine what he would do with real toys? 
Sheilah


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## Lilie (Feb 3, 2010)

Follow your heart, Sheilah. It knows.


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## Merciel (Apr 25, 2013)

I don't think anyone who's ever done it before is really, completely sure that they want to raise a puppy. It IS a big huge nuisance, after all. 

Choosing a new dog is always a weird blend of practicality and absolute _non_-practicality. And love is love. So if you are in a place in your life where it is possible to have a pup and do right by that pup, and you love the pup... then maybe it is time.

Will you regret it if someone else adopts him? Or would you be secretly relieved that the original plan can stay in place?


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

I think I would be both relieved and disappointed. I am not much of a little puppy person, and I love sleeping through the night too much to enjoy young puppies. I really like my life the way it is now. And I like being down to just 3 dogs.

But this little guy has charmed me. That is for sure. We'll see what my husband and son think when they get here. I might decide to wait 24 hours, and if he is still here tomorrow afternoon bring him home. I don't know. I kind of wish I had just called the shelter, rather than coming down in person! I was kind of asking for it by coming down. And then going back to play with him. 

I am still in my riding breeches. I came down after riding.
Sheilah


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## Aliqua (May 16, 2013)

If you leave it til tomorrow and someone else takes him are you always going to wonder if they could have given him the chance at life like you could have... The opportunity to run around and learn and play with your other pups... Just another thought (my first pup was a gsd x Rotty from the shelter)... When I saw him he was mine. No one else's.


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

We are home now. And have decided to sleep on it. There is absolutely no chance that he will last 24 hours at the shelter. So I don't believe that he will end up coming home with us.

I just want to be clear in my own mind that I am ready for another puppy. 
Sheilah


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## Cheyanna (Aug 18, 2012)

If he is there tomorrow, then he is yours. It is meant to be. Update us.


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

Oh, I will absolutely update everyone if he is still there tomorrow. I am off to listen to and watch my son play in his last orchestra performance of his middle school career. 

That was the big reason why I decided to sleep on it. I had forgotten, in all my impulsiveness, that tonight was my cello playing son's last concert of 8th grade. I had been at the barn for most of the morning, then I drove the 30 miles to the animal shelter. I hadn't ironed my son's concert clothes, or done anything to prepare. I couldn't imagine bringing a young puppy into the house, scrambling to get puppy stuff together and all the while trying to get ready for the concert, too.
Sheilah


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## lyssa62 (May 5, 2013)

LOL I am 50 ..just got out of the hotel/ customer service issues agent after working in the hotel business in one aspect or another since I was 16. * not going to do the math*..it was a looooooooooong time. 
My seasonal tax job also came to an end for another year. With 5 cats, 3 parrots, and a snake ...my plans were to journal, read, walk, enjoy the nature on our acreage and just chill out. Roxy-- had other plans..she snuck into my heart at 11 weeks and is there to stay. 
You never realize how old 50 is until you are raising a pup again. Oh My Goodness. Both of my kids slept through the night from their first night home from the hospital so I wasn't used to the 2 hour in between potty breaks during the first few nights. I am lucky both of my mini adults still live at home so they have been great with the addition to our family. My daughter gets home from work at 10:30 and takes roxy out for her last night potty trip and then we sleep until about 6:30..which is ok cuz I get up early anyhow.

long story short....I really didn't think I was "ready" to do the puppy thing ...and my heart told me different..now I can't imagine my life being complete without her. ...good luck and anxious to see what happens


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I was originally on a wait list for a well bred puppy and then I found my one year old male GSD. He was already at the shelter for two months, with no one looking at him twice. They would walk past his crate and say "oh what a nice dog", but they kept walking. They do house checks for any pure breds where I got him from. I was lucky enough to have that waived because I owned a GSD already and she made a great impression when they met her. As I was sitting there waiting for him to meet my dog, someone came out of the back and they were interested in him. I got nervous and thought, maybe I should just let him go to that home? I already had seen him and played with him and I loved his disposition. I didn't even get a chance to back out, because the lady at the front desk told them he was adopted already, before my GSD ever met him..talk about them feeling confident it would work. Even though he is one, he is very puppy like and I feel like he would have been a puppy that would drive anyone insane...probably why he ended up at the shelter. I'm happy with my decision, with some work, we will be okay.


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

lyssa62 said:


> LOL I am 50 ..


LOL, I will be 50 this summer! 
Sheilah


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## sitstay (Jan 20, 2003)

Well, I had an e-mail from the shelter, letting me know that puppy was adopted about 10 minutes after we left yesterday afternoon. 

I am disappointed, but relieved. I think maybe more disappointed. I guess I had no idea how bad my puppy fever was.
Sheilah


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