Rescue They Said…

It’ll be fun they said…

Since September 2017 I have had my heart set on getting a puppy. Chris and I knew it was responsible to wait until we moved to Washington to add a little furball to our family, but that didn’t stop me from dreaming.

Fast forward to December and I told him “hey, we’re here now, can I get my puppy?” He told me to start looking, and I did. Did you know how expensive puppies are? Wow! When I got Skylar, my husky, I paid $400 for her from a breeder. She is purebred, AKC registered, and I met both her mom and her dad. There are people everywhere asking for $1000+ for non-AKC registered, non-purebred dogs. What world am I living in?

So, we decided to rescue. Here we are, March 7th, and still no doggo. We have searched high and low, near and far, and even states away…but no luck! The dogs we do find that we’re interested in, and we’re flexible up to 3 years of age, we get told by the facilities are “very popular” or “they’re on hold already.” We are looking for 6 breeds of dogs, and any mixes of those. We are not being that picky!

What does a doggo mom do? I WANT to rescue, but it’s making things impossible for me. Why do the shelters make it so difficult? I have a home for a dog to come to where it will be loved, have a friend, and get spoiled, yet they are not even willing to take an application online! They just assume someone will walk in that is better or a more worthy doggo parent. It’s sickening and exhausting. You’d think they’d want to give the dog the best home possible.

I would say to never stop trying, and I won’t, but this process is discouraging. I really hope they find a better system one day for people like me.

Skylar decided to jump in a marsh this weekend….thought I’d share 🙂

From Coast to Coast: Part 1

A few months ago my boyfriend and I embarked on a journey that would forever be known as our “cross country nightmare.” We spent 8 days driving, 8 days stopping constantly to walk our dog, and 8 days trying not to fall asleep at the wheel. Did you get that? I want you know it took us 8 days. 

A little background on why we were moving goes back to many reasons couples take these moves: the good ol’ military. We decided to drive, instead of fly, because we have our dog. I am not sure if you have ever taken a look at the statistics regarding dogs safely flying in airplanes, they’re not good. Many dogs are either overheated, have seizures, get horrible anxiety, or are covered in their own feces/urine for hours. I took one look at those online articles and let me boyfriend know I was feeling uncomfortable about flying her and his response was a quick “say no more.”

As time went on it seemed our move came closer and closer, yet our planning seemed impossible to complete it all before leaving. We decided to leave the Saturday after Thanksgiving and started planning around September.

Finding a home: It was nearly impossible to find a home from this distance away, at least one that would allow our dog. With him working on Whidbey, and my job status still unknown, we were trying to look all over instead of a narrowed down city (which I think made it more stressful.) It got down to two weeks from our departure date, my boyfriend practically losing his hair, and we found an apartment in between Seattle and Whidbey.

When making a military move I would just like to offer some advice: help out your S/O. Support one another in any, and every, way that you can. During this move it seemed like regardless of what we got right, something else ended up wrong. One of the few things that helped us make it here, some days the only thing, was each other. There were a lot of tears shed, mostly from stress, and a few unnecessary fights. Just keep your love close and make some time for each other beyond the move. Once we made it here, that stress and those moments became something to look back and laugh at.

I will finish this story in a Part 2, where I will include some pictures and a story about our drive!

This is us the night before our last day in Virginia. I miss that beautiful Fall foliage there!!