I am the owner of a new pup and, as such, I have succumb to the trials and tribulations of owning a small, four legged shark with boundless energy. We come to love our furry little ones and they become part of our family. They are a part our lives and a part of ourselves. However, sometimes there are situations when we can no longer keep our babies; circumstances come which we cannot avoid the harrowing prospect of giving up our babies.

On June 17, 2009, the following appeared in the Seattle-Tacoma Best of Craigslist section -

Ten years ago, in tears, you turned your beloved dog over to the Bellevue Humane Society. You had to move and your 3 year old dog could not go with you. The workers said that you (a man) cried as you left her there. You even told the folks at the humane society that she was half chow, half lab…One look at this fuzzy brindle pooch and you knew there was no such thing as a brindle chow OR lab..but there are brindle pitbulls…with a pit face, funny looking tiger stripes and lots of fur, I’m certain you thought this was going to be the end of the line for her.

What you need to know is that my best friend adopted her. My friend called me and said, “now, you have to get past her looks…she REALLY is sweet.” Sure enough, she was sweet and for the next 10 years of her life lived the life you had hoped she would have. Her life was filled with swims, playmates, early morning walks, car rides, hikes and lots of love. She died in her bereaved owner’s arms last Saturday, succumbing to the affects of advanced liver disease.

When she was adopted, it was obvious she had been loved and cared for..impeccible manners, good basic training and she really wanted to please. I hope you see this post so that you know that you did the right thing in surrendering her and can stop wondering. She lived the life she deserved.

Here is the original link to the above post – http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/sea/1226773949.html

I know that those of you that read this blog and also are clients of Woofie’s love your pets with all your heart. If you should ever have to unwillingly part with them then keep in mind the above post. All stories don’t end badly and your precious one may end up living a long, happy, fulfilling life.

Now, just to bring this to an even more personal level: I once had a black labradour retreiver named Zoe. She was absolutely gorgeous! She was all black and to make things even more special her birthday was on Halloween. She was my little goblin. I was living in an apartment complex in Cetnreville and one of my neighbors complained that she was too big: I had to find her a new home. At the time I couldn’t afford to move and my life was a complete shambles.

At the time it was one of the most painful experiences I’ve had. I was giving away my little girl. Through the Labradour-L emailing list I found her a new home on the Eastern Shore. I bawled my eyes out drivng home and there was an emptiness in me that I never thought I’d be able to recover from. As time went on I got updates from her new owners. My little Zoe, who had a penchant for eating my shoes and destroying my couch, was trained to get the newspaper by herself at the end of the long driveway of her new family. She had also become quite the accomplished swimmer and took boat rides, went fishing and had become quite enmeshed in her new family; her new life.

I was both happy and sad for her. As time went on I got fewer and fewer updates from her new family. I have faith, though, that she is in good, loving hands.