Last Monday afternoon, our little family grew by one. Well, actually it temporarily grew by three when my husband and my dad found three young puppies wandering on the road.
I’m sure many people would have just continued on their way, hoping that the animals hadn’t wandered far, and that’s understandable. Taking in three puppies that appear to have been abandoned isn’t the easiest task.
Thankfully, my parents have a large yard, and already have dogs of their own and a caged-in area where the three furry babies could be safe. After just a few hours, it was apparent that my husband had already bonded with one of these cute little guys, and wasn’t going to be letting him go.
And so, our family has welcomed little Iggy into our lives. If our four-year-old and seven-year-old could have chosen the outcome of this unexpected run-in, they would have kept all three puppies. But, realistically, we knew this couldn’t happen. So, we turned to social media and the nearby neighbourhood, first to see if the puppies had simply wandered off, and then later on, when no one claimed them, in hopes of finding homes for them.
There was certainly interest, and in less than a week, one of the puppies has found a home, just down the road from where we live. The other puppy has a lot of interest – and we’re hoping that this week we can send her on her way too, before my husband bonds with her too.
Watching our boys interact with their new puppy has been really fun to watch. Our oldest son doesn’t share my enthusiasm with rescuing frozen cats off the side of the road, which we’ve also done, but even he was smitten with our new little guy.
When the puppies first trotted into the yard, he bolted out the door toward them. He quickly announced that he hoped the puppies were “no one’s dogs,” so that we could keep them all.
My own faith in humanity tries to reassure me that these puppies weren’t simply left to fend for themselves, but it’s hard to understand where they came from, and why they ended up where they did. They were clearly hungry, and happy to have human interaction again.
Given the time of the year, I’m sure this situation isn’t rare. We all connect the freshness of spring with furry little babies of all types. And they’re certainly cute and loveable. But, spring does turn to summer, and summer to fall, which then brings winter, and we know by then our furry little puppy will be a much bigger dog, and much more responsibility.
And that’s fine. But sadly, not everyone takes this into account. Our local animal shelter always has an abundance of animals of all ages to care for. I’m a strong believer of proper animal care. Veterinarian bills can be expensive and animals can be messy and high maintenance at times, and if you’re not willing to accept that then you probably shouldn’t have a pet.
But, the benefits of having pets always outweigh the challenges. The kindness and relationships that children develop when dealing with animals is pretty amazing. And watching a grown man ogle a sweet little puppy is pretty adorable also.
