Good Luck Jelly!

If you read this blog regularly then you may remember the post about the adoption of Jelly  by my daughter and grandson.  She was a stray that was found roaming in a park across town along with what was presumed to be her litter mate. A local organization was sponsoring an adoption event and Jaydon just fell in love with her, so into their lives she came.

Jelly was very happy and seemed to fit into their home very well, at least for a while.  The problems started when she grew tired of being left alone while they went to work and school.  She is very much a people dog and needs companionship.  After destroying the inside of the house several times my daughter decided that while they were gone from home Jelly would have to stay outside.  She had the perfect place to leave her outside – a large covered patio with shade and protection from the occasional rain shower we get here and a nice fenced yard with enough room to run and play.  That worked well, for a while.  Then their time away from home increased and Jelly wasn’t happy.  So she began to dig holes under the fence and wiggle through to escape into the neighborhood.  Not a good plan, Jelly.

So, she came over to stay at my house until a suitable new home could be found for her.  She enjoyed the company of my four little low-riders, but it was different having that fifth dog in my house, especially a big dog!

We knew that we had to find the exact, perfect home for her.  So we sent out e-mails, posted on Facebook, and my daughter advertised through her company’s classified ads. At first there was nothing except polite inquiries and good wishes.  It was discouraging, but we knew that the right person(s) would come to give Jelly the forever home that she needed.  We could not even consider a shelter because of the fact that she had already been bounced around too much; plus, we knew that she is a good, sweet dog and just needed help to find the right home.

As silly as this may sound, we prayed for Jelly to find that home.  God answers prayers for dogs as well as people.  Last Friday my daughter had an inquiry and the folks came by to look at her and agreed that she was the right dog for them.  We agreed that they were the right people for her.  They live in Fort Stockton (way out in west Texas) with property, have another dog, and one of them stayed at home during the day.  Perfect!

Jelly took right to them, giving them her big hugs and licking their hands.  When they picked her up on Saturday afternoon I said good bye and she walked down the driveway, just like she was ready for her new life.  I was relieved because my dogs would never have left me to go somewhere with unknown people.

I’m sure that this happens fairly often.  You adopt a dog knowing nothing about it and then it is not the right match for you and your family.  I’m glad that we were able to do the right thing for Jelly and get her into a home where she will have the companionship that she needs. 

Having five dogs, one of which was large, was interesting, but it was only for about a week and a half.  During this time I realized that while I have always thought I could never foster a dog (I would get too attached, I thought) I now think I could and may try sometime in the future to do so.  There are several dachshund rescue organizations in our area and I know they need foster doggie parents. If you know that the dog is only staying with you temporarily, then you care for it and give it affection but you do not bond with it.  This is exactly what I did with Jelly because I knew I could not keep her permanently; she was loved and cared for and I enjoyed her sweet company, but I did not let myself get attached to her.  I knew that was to be saved for someone else.

So, Good Luck Jelly!  We will miss you, but know that you are on your way to a long, happy doggie life in west Texas!