An Adoption Story

About a year ago, my husband and I adopted our dog Bob from the SPCA shelter in Norfolk. I found his picture on Petfinder and wanted to see what he was like in person. My husband had wanted to wait to adopt but after seeing his picture he too was a little curious. So we drove to Norfolk and filled out all the required paperwork to have a visitation session with Bob. After spending time in the room with him, feeding him from a KONG and trying to get him to calm down enough to let us pet him we decided to adopt him. Bob was only 30lbs but he was very sweet. We fell in love with him. At that shelter they required you to have a written form from your apartment complex that you had paid your pet fee and had told them of your adoption plans. Naturally we did not know everything about the adoption process until after we had decided to adopt. It was an intense few days trying to get our paperwork together and finding a time when my husband and I were both not busy with work to take everything in. I was really worried someone would adopt him before we could get back. We managed to work everything out and two days later Bob was homebound.

The adjustment period was very intense for the first two weeks. We had done the research on Bob's breed, English Pointer, and had learned a lot. I would suggest people research the breed of dog before they adopt because it really helped us to understand what to expect. Bob is a very high energy dog who requires A LOT of exercise, patience and love. We had only been living with our cat Ziggy who requires attention on his time unlike Bob who enjoys constant attention. While Bob had tested well with cats in the shelter our cat Ziggy was not quite as receptive to Bob's attentions. So he hid out in our bedroom for a week or two. We kept Bob out so Ziggy could relax. It was difficult for Bob to refrain from sniffing at the door but he managed it. Eventually they came to enjoy each others company and now often share our bed for nap time while we are not home. They also enjoy playing together. Wrestling, catching bugs and chasing games make up their list of common interests. During the first two weeks of Bob's time with us I was afraid it was not going to work out because of the issues our cat had with him but all they needed was time. I am happy to say that Bob has been living with us for a year now and he has made friends with not only Ziggy and the dog park dogs but everyone he meets. He is a sweet and loving boy who only needed a nice and loving home.

For people who are considering adopting a pet I would suggest a shelter animal. You will be surprised at what a wonderful and loving animal you will bring into your home and life. Bob is full of endless love and we are constantly learning new things about him.

If you have an adoption story and pictures to share please send it to pspca1@gmail.com. We would love to tell your story so that others will see the joys of adopting!