Interesting & Emotional

...these are the words that I can think of right now to best describe our week (or at least the beginning). Let me explain. For the past six months or so, Stephen and I have been contemplating and talking about getting a family pet...i.e. a dog. Over the course of these months of us discussing this option, we have stopped by PetSmart a couple times here and there on the weekends to see if there was that one special dog up for adoption that we simply could not live without. So this past Sunday, we were out and about and decided to stop by PetSmart (on a whim), like any other weekend, not really expecting any of the "cute" dogs to still be there...but from the moment we walked in...there was one that caught both of our eyes...
his name: Otis (the humane society had named him Ellis, but this was not his real name, so we changed it)
his breed: labrador retriever mix
his age: just over one year old
We both looked at each other and then looked at him and decided to walk around the store to "discuss" the option of adopting him. It probably was a funny site to see us (two very indecisive people) going back and forth between wanting to adopt him and then questioning whether we were ready or not for this change. We finally decided that if we kept questioning whether or not we were ready for this adventure, then we probably would never come around to actually taking that next step to adopting a dog. So we walked out about an hour later...proud owners of a beautiful...well, should I say handsome dog.
After we got home...it was kind of a surreal feeling knowing that now it was not just Stephen and I anymore...but now there were three of us.
That was Sunday.
Monday morning I woke up and was about to begin my morning routine of getting ready for work and when I walked into the living room, Stephen said that we may not be able to keep Otis. See, little did we know that Stephen had somehow contracted an allergy to dogs, that he did not have when he was a child, but now that Otis was around, his arms were itching, his eyes were watering and itching, as well as he was not sleeping well due to his sinuses being clogged. This was very sad. But we both agreed to give it a couple more days to allow for Stephen to adjust to Otis and that was that and I went and got ready for work and left.
I came home from work that evening and had a quiet evening at home with Otis while Stephen was at work. I was thankful that Otis was not one of those hiper dogs that was always in need of movement and play time, so as I said it was a quiet evening.
When Stephen arrived home from work, we started discussing this whole situation again and decided that if got any worse over the course of the night then the next day (Tuesday) we would have to take Otis back.
That was Monday.
The next day, I woke up and got ready for work (same as usual) and left for another day at the office. Stephen called me when he woke up and said that his allergic reaction to Otis seemed to be getting worse and it was to the point where he was miserable. So I came home for lunch and then after we finished our meal, I packed Otis up in my car and we made the trek out to the Humane Society to return him, since it was just not going to work out. We decided that it was best if I did alone, especially since Stephen would need to leave for work shortly there after and we were not sure how long it woul take. The drive out the shelter...was hard...Otis decided to lay down in my back seat until we got to our destination and I was obviously driving :) I did not think that it would be that difficult to say goodbye to a dog that had only been a part of my life for a little more than two days...but it was so emotional. I cried. The gentleman who worked there reassured me that Otis was one of the most well-behaved dogs they had and to not worry about them taking any drastic measures on him. I filled out the paper work and left, barely even having the chance to say goodbye to our "little" guy. I got in my car and just sat there...I cried some more. I gathered my composure to be able to drive and left. As I was driving, I called Stephen to let him know how it went and I started crying on the phone with him. I was amazed at how hard it was to give up something that we had only for a short time, but I think that it was not because I had become so attached to him (which I had become attached but not so much that it was that kind of hard) but rather it was hard because I could not stand the thought of him having to be put back in a cage and wait for another family to come along and adopt him.
That was Tuesday.
It was a hard and emotional beginning to the week. Thankfully, our week did get a little bit better and yesterday came along and I realized that I would have a three day weekend to spend with my husband and so it got a whole lot better the moment I walked out of work and was on my way home. :) Stephen was able to get home from work a little earlier than normal and last night we took lots and lots of silly pictures on the laptop...that was fun...we were silly...and here are two snapshots of us last night...having fun after a long and emotional week :)

"I love you" in sign language

and all smiles :)

Well, I guess that is all I got for now...I am thinking that I will close and start watching the movie that Stephen is watching and spend some time with him.
Anyway, I hope you all have a relaxing and wonderful holiday weekend...I know I will :)
~kate