So you are ready to adopt a dog…

It’s so exciting to finally make the decision to adopt a dog. You want to do the right thing and give a dog a second chance after it got a rocky start to life. You are ready to shower it with love! You have bought the bed, the toys, researched the food and treats. It’s time!

WHOAAAA… just make sure to stop and prepare yourself to adopt a dog from another country or the pound. Are you really ready?

Stella at 5 months old living on a chain in Korea.

You can read my dogs’ stories (Stella and Mocha) here on the blog. Stella was chained up in a cement back yard beside her mum until my friend brought her to me. Picture this: she is on a chain (this tiny puppy) and the owners would come out and hose down the yard, moving things around with little regard for her fear etc. Then she is put in a crate, and flown across the world and straight into my arms.

The moment we met.

Instant bonding!

She bonded to me instantly. About 30 minutes later, I met up with my husband. It took two months of him hand-feeding her, and eventually, while I was away for a weekend, she decided he was OK.

Stella is only 10 pounds, but all 10 pounds make for a fierce little fighter. She is Alpha; she did not want anyone coming into the house and tried to bite their ankles every time. She was going to protect me at all costs. She used to get a glazed look in her eyes and she would go “mad”. We hired trainers and worked tirelessly with her to alleviate her fears. It’s been two years now and we are STARTING to see light at the end of the tunnel.

All this to say — your ideal adoption plan can go sideways. Are you ready to devote the time? The cost of trainers? The tears? The frustrations? It’s not always a smooth transition into adoption and we learned first-hand that our little spitfire Stella was going to be a handful.

And you know what? She is worth every heartache. But it was WORK! Are you ready?

Stella. She is getting better!

My next post will be about patience!

~ Sue