Lady

I adopted Lady from a lowly puppy-mill filled pet store and while I do not support this kind of mistreatment I had wanted a Cocker Spaniel for so long and I saw her crumpled up into an empty bowl in the front window, lonely, tiny, and obviously extremely sick. I couldn't help but want her.

My heart was completely broken for the puppies there. They were tear-stained, reeked of kennel cough and held by every dirty hand that walked by to fancy them. I asked for the Cocker Spaniel puppy and didn't want anyone to hold her again in that condition. I had never seen a puppy that small at 8 weeks. I called my mom to ask her opinion, though, I had already had my mind set that I couldn't live with placing her back in that cage. 

I paid for her straight out. I didn't care how much she was or that I had no intention of getting a puppy that day so my apartment was not ready for her arrival at all. 

We took her home and gave her a bath, snuggled her, introduced her to her big sister, Bailey and headed to Petsmart (my favorite store). Lady, whom we almost named Taz, only weighed a mere 2 pounds, which made her an odd match with our 45-50 pound lab puppy, Bailey.

Since she was not yet potty trained (she actually had a habit of only going on the sidewalk because she had been going on a hard floored crate in the pet shop for so long, so sad) I had folded a few clean towels into a basket just big enough for her to be unable to get out of for the night. I hummed her to sleep  and held her close to me until she fell asleep for weeks, then I gently placed her into her basket next to my bed. I was so worried because I would hear wheezing, breaking my heart all through the night. 

I took her to the vet first thing in the morning where they diagnosed her with an upper respiratory infection or "Kennel cough" went home with meds that did nothing.

In the following weeks we had switched her food to a non-wheat or by-product based, holistic: Blue Buffalo, which cleared up her tear-stains within days. We also went vet hopping until we finally found one that gave her an antibiotic that worked! I signed her up for the puppy plan at Petsmart, which has been one of the smarter decisions I've made and cut costs tons. I wish I would have started there and saved hundreds of dollars bouncing around but as long as my sweet baby got better, the money didn't matter.

Now, looking back on a healthy, 6 month old beauty, I am so happy with the things that have happened leading to where we are now. I can understand why people are adopting pet companions rather than having children. This is my baby, I would do anything for her, there is no owner or master, there is a loving mommy to a freckled sweet blonde baby and a loving bond that surpasses all outside understanding. What a whirlwind it has been but I wouldn't have wanted it any other way.