ADOPTED: Karina for the Win!

In late February, a few days after we took Karina in, one of my colleagues popped into my cubicle and stated bluntly, "You need a win." (I think this was around the time that Charlie Sheen was walking around mumbling things about winning.) Nevertheless, she was totally right. I was buried in school work and work work, and I was still feeling badly about Jack and the switcheroo.

I thought that this win would come quickly—a week, a month at most. After all, Karina is a ready-made dog. Crate-trained, housebroken, basic commands. Just open the door, and let her in. Sure, she isn't great with cats or other dogs, but she is just a doll. She makes the case for walking into a shelter/adoption event and saying, "Give me a dog with a heart of gold. I don't care how much she weighs, what color her fur is, how old she is, or how many teeth she is missing. Give me the sweetest dog you have."

Well, 14 weeks later, we got our win. A very nice woman contacted us about Rina this week. She has a unique situation in that she can bring a dog to work with her. (How jealous am I?) As such, she needs a housebroken dog that is friendly with people, but can settle down when it's time to work.


Does she like car rides?, she asked. I have a bit of a drive to work every day.
Without a doubt, I answered. She stands by my car on our morning walks in hopes she can hop in.

Is Karina a good co-worker?, she asked. 

Unequivocally yes, I replied. I work from home on occasion and she's a better co-worker than some humans. 

She came to adoption day today with her boyfriend to meet Karina. She asked all of the right questions and more. She wasn't scared by Karina's medical history with heartworm; she understood it meant being vigilant about preventative for the rest of her life. She loved that Karina is a BBD (she had a 100 pound Rottweiler previously), and she loved Karina's one white toe. She loved everything we have come to love. And this is only the beginning of their love story.

After talking it over with her boyfriend, she came up to me and said, "She's the one." Her eyes filled with tears, and so did mine.

We'll do a home visit and drop Karina off at her forever home on Friday night. Our good-byes will be bittersweet (and I'm sure I'll cry.) Karina will always hold a special place in our hearts because she really could have been a dog we kept. But I'm glad we held out for her upgrade, as Jen at Inu Baka calls it. We simply couldn't imagine a better home for her.

Win for Karina's new family.
Win for us and the rescue.
Win for Karina.