Finding True Love on the Internet
I'm not sure who said that true love can't be found on the
Internet but I beg to differ.
It was a lonely point in my life. I had just lost him and was
visiting a friend's house. She was an avid user of the internet,
finding everything on there. She pulled his picture and said,
"Well, what do you think?"
What could I think? He was unbelievably handsome. He had big,
dark brown eyes and pitch black hair. He was a little older than
is typically my type but what the heck. He had an old fashioned
name too-Arnold. Oh well, what's in a name?
There was a contact number there. I told my friend I would think
about calling but NO PROMISES.
However, I couldn't get him out of my mind. Throwing caution to
the wind, I picked up the phone and called. Now mind you, this
is not like me at all. I am quite cautious, but what the heck!
A meeting place was set. A place was chosen where there would be
lots of others. I felt that was much safer and left me free to
make no commitment whatsoever.
Driving there, I was nervous. What if he didn't like me? What if
he looked nothing like his picture? What if I didn't like him?
I arrived and the place was very busy. I searched and found him.
He was just as handsome, no even more handsome in person; his
picture on the internet just didn't do him justice. However, as
we all know, looks aren't everything. Of course, Arnold had no
idea what I looked like so I was free to sit and watch just how
he behaved. I have to say, he met all my requirements there too.
He was sitting next to an older man so I walked up and
introduced myself.
"Hi, I'm the lady who called about Arnold," I said excitedly,
"is he still available?"
"Yes the older gentleman said, and I must tell you that I've
really grown fond of him. He's living with me and I'll really
miss him."
It was time to meet face to face. Well, I guess that's how you
say it when a person meets a potential pet. I looked down at the
black Labrador/Dalmatian mix and he looked at me with his big
brown eyes. My heart melted.
Arnold was at the Ozaukee Humane Society. He was 11 years old.
Our family thought it was highly unlikely that anyone would
adopt an 11 year old dog who weighed over 70 pounds. The Humane
Society was having an open house and all the current homeless
pets were there to see. My daughter and son were with me. They
took one look at Arnold and they too fell in love. We spent the
next hour chatting with his current care giver to find out if he
would fit in with our family. From everything he said we were
sure he would.
My children and I fell in love with Arnold after meeting him at
the Humane Society. We put an application in and anxiously
waited to see if the Humane Society thought we were "fit"
applicants for this 75 pound Black Lab/Dalmatian mix. Keep in
mind that our last dog usually slept on the bed between my
husband and me.
My husband was away on a business trip when we went to check
Arnold out. I did ask him is it was okay if we got another dog.
He had reluctantly said yes before hopping on the plane.
A few days after we put in the application, we got news that
Arnold was ours. The kids and I raced to pick him up at one of
the Humane Societies volunteer's house. He jumped in our van
like he had known us forever.
There were a few things I made sure of before attempting to
adopt Arnold. I wanted to be sure that he was good with kids;
that he liked riding in the car and that he could be alone in
the house without having an accident or destroying anything.
The day we brought Arnold home was a beautiful summer day. The
kids and I decided that we would take Arnold for a walk. They of
course wanted to be the one to hold him. We were all walking
nicely around the block. My son Alex was 10 at the time and was
holding onto Arnold's leash. All of a sudden, Arnold took off,
literally dragging poor Alex along with him. I kept shouting,
"Let go of the leash.", but I guess it's like when you're skiing
and you can't remember how to let go of the tow rope! Alex
finally figured out he needed to let go. We thought for sure we
had lost Arnold. We all ran the way he took off and there he was
in a neighbor's yard checking out their dog.
My husband got home later that night. As he walked in the house,
Arnold ran to greet him. My husband just looked at him and
exclaimed, "He's so big!"
Arnold fit in well with the family. The kids love him. Being an
older dog he sleeps much of the day but still loves to go with
me for an early morning run. He is almost sixteen now. He can't
hear, has trouble controlling his bowels and wakes me up in the
middle of the night. But he has brought a lot of joy to this
household. We also have the satisfaction of knowing we made his
last years pleasurable ones.
Considering a dog or cat to join your family? Why not check out
your local Humane Society? You can save a life and gain a loyal
companion.
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