This post has been update to reflect more information and pictures.

Adoption Day:  This was very exciting but I have to admit I was a tad bit nervous.  As I counted the 17 years since I had had a puppy and I wanted to do everything right.  I’m wondering now if the Purina Puppy Chow that I bought was good for their little bellies.  Jake And Maggie are 4 years old now so I think we are ok in that department.

After losing our three older shelter dogs at ages 13, 14, and 15 to cancer, stroke, and heart attack, I was thrilled to be a part of Jake and Maggie’s adoption.  I totally forgot to introduce myself and almost grabbed Jake and Maggie from the breeder.  They were even more perfect than in the pictures.  I had their new collars and leashes ready and new blankets in the car.  Thomas was as excited as I was but he contained his excitement a bit more than I did :-).

But…let me tell you the real truth to this story.  We did not check all the boxes during the adoption process.  We contacted our vet who knew of a breeder whose dog had had puppies.  We were sent a picture, fell in love from the picture but had a good sense that we were getting two sick puppies.  We made the decision to go through the adoption as we didn’t want to split the two puppies up.  We also knew that we had the time, resources, and money to take care of them.  We also knew that we would be foster failures so adoption was the only route for us.

Our excitement faltered a bit when the pups were handed over to me full of fleas.  Our first order of business was to stop at the store and buy Dawn Dish Soap.  Did you know that Dawn kills fleas on the spot?  Wrapped in their new blankets, we took the pups into the garage and before even taking them into the house, had to bath them in the utility sink.  The water was red as it rolled over their little bodies.  From that point, for two solid months, Jake And Maggie had severe diarrhea the likes that the vet had never seen.  It was full of mucus, slime, and what looked like small white eggs.  With many rounds of medication, we go them cleared up.  

Fortunately, we were able to get the pups straightened up but it was stressful and expensive to say the least.  It is so important to ask questions as we did not. We did not meet the dog parents now did we meet the dog owners until we were all at the vet together.  We got Jake And Maggie fixed as we did not want puppies nor did we want to deal with brother and sister having babies.  The one thing we did was to have reputable and trusting vets in place to take care of what we were possibly facing.  We had the dedication needed to see through this life changing event.  You have to know that adopting any pet is a life changing event and be prepared for it.  Be aware of the reality that you are adopting what is essentially a child that needs love, attention, and dedication no matter the health and physical capabilities.

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