As a college student living on your own with close friends you assume responsibilities you’ve most likely never had to account for. Sometimes you can never fully uncover the consequences of a decision until you’re in too far and the lesson has been learned. I say this because I know first hand what it’s like to make a decision that alters your life in major ways. When was my life thrown off course, you wonder? When I made the decision to adopt a dog.
I moved into an apartment with my best friend, we’ll call her Sally. We always talked about getting a pet and we both agreed that we would get a dog together because we considered ourselves dog people. We reassured ourselves that we would be great pet owners and that although we knew our parents forbid us, of what they said was a very poor decision; we knew they’d eventually come around.
We found Harry on Craigslist. The title was “Re-homing My Loving Amstaff Lab Mix” and when we saw his pictures, it was love at first sight. He didn’t look sickly or beaten, his coat was a beautiful blue color, and he didn’t look like he’d be too much to handle.
Harry’s owner claimed she had rescued him when he was found as a bait dog. In the terrible world of dog fighting for sport, a bait dog is tied up or confined for the game dogs to attack and most of the time kill as entertainment. The owner said she was trying to place Harry in a new home because she was overwhelmed with being a full time worker/ student and having to take care of both Harry and her other dog. It was to our understanding that Harry was up to date on all of his shots, medicines for heart worm, flees, and ticks, he was neutered, and had a microchip just in case he ever ran away. All of these things made the decision that much easier to make, because everything was already done for us. All that was left to do was to give Harry the love he deserved and a home where he’d be a happy dog.
The morning of Harry’s arrival came so quickly, he ran up our porch stairs into the house like a race horse. The reason I’m comparing Harry’s entrance to a race horse is because he was literally the size of a baby horse and his speed and agility made me second-guess whether or not we were adopting a dog or Seabiscuit. Harry warmed up to Sally and me so quickly that his owner decided we were the ones she wanted to leave Harry with. A quick signature on the dotted line on the bottom of a contract and Harry was all ours.
There was one thing that stuck out, and that was how much Harry looked like a pit-bull. After doing some research and looking through his medical records I realized that the “Amstaff “ was short for American Staffordshire Terrier which is also the old, outdated name for Pit-bull. I knew that pit-bulls come with a bad name, but Harry didn’t come close to a stereotypical pit-bull, so I wasn’t bothered by the misleading information.
Sally agreed to take Harry back to her hometown for the summer because I would be working 40 hours a week. Another reason is because my mother’s cats were dog treats in Harry’s eyes. Three days before Sally went home, she told me she was no longer able to bring Harry home for the summer. I didn’t argue, because I knew my parents would help me out. My parents refused to let Harry live home for the summer so I was forced to remain in my house at school. I didn’t mind because I knew Harry was my responsibility and if I had to live alone all summer with my dog, then that’s what I would have to do. I soon began to realize that this humble act was easier said than done. I had to commute to work at 4:30a.m.; instead of being able to have dinner with my parents and hang out with my friends, I had to go home to Harry.
I had an emotional break down. I realized what I had to do. I was going to have to re-home Harry, in order for him to get the most attention and the best home that he deserved. I thought this would fix everything but re-homing a dog is one of the most time consuming processes in the world. I thought I’d be able to bring him to a no kill shelter without a problem, but I soon realized that I would have to be on waiting lists because no kill shelters are over populated with pit-bulls and since the dogs stay until they are adopted, all spots were filled; no room at the inn for him. I was devastated.
Things began to turn around when a very good family friend of mine, let’s call her Anje decided to take matters into her own hands and did everything in her power to find a home for Harry. It didn’t happen over night, but she found the perfect place for him where he’d have large spaces to run, socialize with other dogs, learn some manners, and most importantly have the opportunity to be adopted by a qualified individual or family.
Looking back at this entire situation I have a completely different view. I’m a college student who decided it was necessary to adopt a dog to show I could be responsible. I also realized that my parents both work very hard and wouldn’t be able to help me out with Harry. I shouldn’t have adopted a dog without being completely confident that I was going to be able to do this. It continues to blow my mind to think that one decision I made to adopt a dog, when I wasn’t ready to decide what I wanted for lunch at the dining commons, changed my life this dramatically.
If there’s one thing I can leave with whomever is reading my story it’s that adopting or rescuing a dog may seem like you’re doing the right thing, but if you’re not ready to take care of a dog you might actually be doing the wrong thing; don’t be selfish, be selfless.
CEL, From the Berkshires, MA 
