We wanted to adopt a second dog to keep Midnight, our 15 year old dog, company. We looked at several rescues, looking for calm adult dogs, ideally over 2 years old. Puppies are adorable, but they are a lot of work, and full of energy. We wanted a calmer dog who could play with us, but provide companionship for Midnight. Online, we fell in love with one dog at a local rescue. She was almost 4, and came from a hoarder in Louisiana. She was very calm, and while she wasn't attached to us right away, we figured that was her hoarding background, and with love and training we could quickly win her over. We named her Voodoo in honor of her Louisiana origins.
When we got her home, we quickly realized she wasn't housebroken. It's not uncommon for hoarding dogs, and coming out the stressful shelter environment, totally understandable. She peed right by her food bowl, and had a lot of fear urination when noises scared her, someone new came to the house, etc. However, it was soon clear that she had a serious tummy issue. We took her to our vet, who diagnosed her with giardia. Not only that, but she told us Voodoo was less than 9 months old! We really didn't want to take on all the work associated with a puppy, we were clear about wanting adult dogs.
9 days after adopting Voodoo, my senior dog tore her ACL. Because of her age, surgery wasn't an option, so we worked with a veterinary rehab facility 40 minutes away. She went weekly for water therapy and laser treatments for her arthritis to help her walk again. This was an extremely stressful time, trying to balance the health of my senior dog and taking care of a puppy! There were lots of tears, and many times I felt like giving up.
However, I believe that adoption is for life. We house trained Voodoo over several weeks, bought a carpet cleaner for her many accidents, cured the giardia, and got her used to walking on a leash. We also had to puppy-proof the house, after losing shoes, a comforter, sheets, chair covers, ottoman legs, you name it. Oh, puppies...
Voodoo learned to be gentle with our senior, and a year later, we had to let Midnight cross the Rainbow Bridge at 16 years old. She was with us for over 15 years, and we miss her terribly. Voodoo has turned into a very sweet dog. With training she has learned to be less scared of strangers and daycare twice a week has helped her socialize with both people and dogs. She is slowly learning to snuggle with us on the couch, and loves chasing the squirrels in our new home. We are thinking about getting another dog who can run and play ball with her (there is no way I can keep up with her!) but we are taking our time, and making sure we get a good fit. And the number one rule is - no puppies!
SMYRNA, GA
