Finley smiling while waiting to leave the shelter with us
I had been thinking about getting a dog for a while after grieving the loss of my last dog for a few years. I also had to convince my dad – this did take a while but we made a deal, after I graduated (from university) I could get one. I wasn’t too sure what kind of dog I wanted, though I did come up with some criteria: it had to be a girl, weigh between 15 and 40 pounds and be a dark colour. Let me explain, my last dog was a small white poodle that weighed around 10 pounds. I loved him very much but I wasn’t ready to have another small, white, male dog.
One thing I did know was I wasn’t going to get my dog from a pet store. In the last year or so I started watching Animal Cops on Animal Planet, not an easy show for an animal lover to watch by the way. While I wasn’t initially sold on the idea of adoption, it did grow on me quickly since I wasn’t sure if I could handle a puppy, ultimately deciding I wanted a young dog, so it would be around for a long time.
I began religiously looking out for the perfect dog on site such Petfinder and Kijiji. In an ideal world, the perfect dog would have been a miniature goldendoodle. I love poodles and golden retrievers but I also knew I didn’t want a large dog, hence the miniature part. I never did find that miniature goldendoodle but then I wasn’t exactly expecting too.
One day I saw this cute little schnauzer on Petfinder, she fit the size, sex and description I was looking for, but she was puppy. They were holding a pet fair that weekend and the site suggested coming by to see the dogs, so I went to see her. Turns out she had kennel cough and wasn’t able to attend the fair, I must admit I was a little sad. My dad suggested stopping at the SPCA on the way home. While there, this cute dog looked happy to see us and stuck her paw out of the crate she was being kept in. I couldn’t resist touching her and soon was petting that little paw. I was torn, I didn’t want a small, white dog and that’s what she was, in fact she was poodle/lhasa apso so she looked similar to my old dog. I had actually seen on Petfinder a few times for a while (maybe in a period of two months) and quickly dismissed her as the dog I was looking because of that – something I slightly regret to this day after learning about her history.
I ended up leaving that day with a heavy heart. I didn’t want a small, white dog but at the same time it was incredibly hard leaving her behind. She stuck in my mind for days and I went finally went back to see her that Thursday. She was tired that day and stay curled up in a ball barely looking at me or my dad, but I filled out an application form anyways. I had to before they would tell me anything more about her. Nothing I was told about her discouraged me from wanting her. After a few minutes in a private room and a short walk, there was absolutely no way I was going to leave without her.
I learned that she had been abandoned twice. The SPCA didn’t know much of her history since she wasn’t surrendered by the owners the first time, it seemed she had been found by someone and brought to the shelter. She was later adopted by some guy, who sadly, returned her to the SPCA two weeks later. He said she was had destructive behaviour when left alone, she barked and wasn’t housetrained too well. There were a few other minor problems, along those lines, that he mentioned but if you ask me, he was pretty using any excuse he could find because he didn’t have the time and patience for a dog. It was made pretty clear, that she would not be adoptable if returned to the shelter again. I had no intention of doing that and the problems were nothing a little training, patience and love couldn’t solve.
I think it finally dawned on her that she was going to her forever-home when she wasn’t returned to her crate after going for a walk. She had this huge smile on her face the whole time her paperwork was being finalized...and on the way home. Her name at the shelter was Amelia but I quickly changed it to Finley, which I find suited her better and that’s story of how I found my white dog.
One thing I did know was I wasn’t going to get my dog from a pet store. In the last year or so I started watching Animal Cops on Animal Planet, not an easy show for an animal lover to watch by the way. While I wasn’t initially sold on the idea of adoption, it did grow on me quickly since I wasn’t sure if I could handle a puppy, ultimately deciding I wanted a young dog, so it would be around for a long time.
I began religiously looking out for the perfect dog on site such Petfinder and Kijiji. In an ideal world, the perfect dog would have been a miniature goldendoodle. I love poodles and golden retrievers but I also knew I didn’t want a large dog, hence the miniature part. I never did find that miniature goldendoodle but then I wasn’t exactly expecting too.
One day I saw this cute little schnauzer on Petfinder, she fit the size, sex and description I was looking for, but she was puppy. They were holding a pet fair that weekend and the site suggested coming by to see the dogs, so I went to see her. Turns out she had kennel cough and wasn’t able to attend the fair, I must admit I was a little sad. My dad suggested stopping at the SPCA on the way home. While there, this cute dog looked happy to see us and stuck her paw out of the crate she was being kept in. I couldn’t resist touching her and soon was petting that little paw. I was torn, I didn’t want a small, white dog and that’s what she was, in fact she was poodle/lhasa apso so she looked similar to my old dog. I had actually seen on Petfinder a few times for a while (maybe in a period of two months) and quickly dismissed her as the dog I was looking because of that – something I slightly regret to this day after learning about her history.
I ended up leaving that day with a heavy heart. I didn’t want a small, white dog but at the same time it was incredibly hard leaving her behind. She stuck in my mind for days and I went finally went back to see her that Thursday. She was tired that day and stay curled up in a ball barely looking at me or my dad, but I filled out an application form anyways. I had to before they would tell me anything more about her. Nothing I was told about her discouraged me from wanting her. After a few minutes in a private room and a short walk, there was absolutely no way I was going to leave without her.
I learned that she had been abandoned twice. The SPCA didn’t know much of her history since she wasn’t surrendered by the owners the first time, it seemed she had been found by someone and brought to the shelter. She was later adopted by some guy, who sadly, returned her to the SPCA two weeks later. He said she was had destructive behaviour when left alone, she barked and wasn’t housetrained too well. There were a few other minor problems, along those lines, that he mentioned but if you ask me, he was pretty using any excuse he could find because he didn’t have the time and patience for a dog. It was made pretty clear, that she would not be adoptable if returned to the shelter again. I had no intention of doing that and the problems were nothing a little training, patience and love couldn’t solve.
I think it finally dawned on her that she was going to her forever-home when she wasn’t returned to her crate after going for a walk. She had this huge smile on her face the whole time her paperwork was being finalized...and on the way home. Her name at the shelter was Amelia but I quickly changed it to Finley, which I find suited her better and that’s story of how I found my white dog.
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