The Day We Got Our....

PUPPIES!!! On Wednesday, right after school, I called a pet rescue center in Louisville, KY to inquire about the two little Lhasa Apso puppies featured at the bottom of my last post. They were very wary of me. Here is kinda how the convo went:
Me: Hi, I am calling about the Lhasa Apso puppies you have on puppyfinder. Do you still have them?
Them: Yyyeeeessss. (very slowing and hesitantly) Do you have any children?
Me: No (bitterly).
Them: Have you ever had a puppy before?
Me: Yes. I got a Lhasa Apso puppy 15 years ago. He just died.
Them: (Audibly sighing with relief) Good, so you know what is involved with this kind of dog with all of the grooming and their temperament.
Me: Yes, I do.
Them: To adopt any of our animals you need to go through an application process. You need to fill out paperwork and provide three references, which we will check. If anyone else lives with you, you need to bring them with you when you come to see them. We are open until 7:00 tonight and you can begin the application process at that time.
And some more stuff, but nothing too interesting.

I immediately called Sparky and he said he was leaving his school immediately and would meet me at the Barnes & Noble parking lot (about half way between our two schools). He then remembered that he forgot his wallet at home that morning, and after the drilling I got over the phone, I figured we better get his wallet in case they need photo identification or something.

We were still unsure whether we wanted to get one puppy or two. So we were going to ask the professionals when we got there.

We got to the place about 6:00 and were taken to a small room where all five of the puppies from the litter were rolling over each other. I quickly spotted the one named Pattycake and I held him. Apparently Sparky made eye contact with the one named Sheena immediately and it was "love at first sight." (Gag. She already has him wrapped around her little paw.) Unfortunately, Sheena was already adopted by some people. Ugh. I tried to find a second favorite. It was difficult. Did I want the other girl "Diva"? Or did I want the cute little shy boy with the same coloring as Sheena?  The fifth puppy has the same coloring as Pattycake and is really pretty, but he was clearly the leader of the pack. He was very rambunctious... or as Sparky calls him, "the rabble rouser." I have no desire to battle with a dog, so he was out of the question.

There was an older couple in the room with the puppies when we got there. They were just there to play with the puppies, they weren't buying any. We asked them about one vs two. They said two was the way to go. They had previously had one Lhasa by himself and it was fine, but they currently have two and it is so much easier. They play together, cuddle, and keep each other company when they have to leave the house. The people running the place agreed and said we could get either two boys or a boy and a girl, but not two girls because they will fight.

We told the people which ones we wanted, emphasizing that we really like Sheena if the adoption with the other people doesn't work out. Well, guess what! They couldn't get a hold of the third reference. They also had already left two messages with the people to let them know that their reference wasn't answering. No calls back. Sparky asked if they would like some back up numbers in case our references don't call back. So I wrote down every name and number in my cell phone!
Sparky then asked about how long the process takes because we drove over 100 miles to see them. The lady was really nice and said she would call our references right then!

She talked to my friend Katie and all went well. (Thanks Katie!) Then she called Sparky's friend. Ugh. He thought she was a prank caller.
Them: Would you give Sparky and Sarah two puppies?
Dumb friend: I wouldn't give him a 6 year old Rottweiler! (And he went on)
Them: Oh, then we can't let him take these puppies.
Dumb friend: Oh, you were serious? Who is this?
Apparently they all got a big laugh and it ended up okay. Lucky for him, or he would have regretted it...
I think they then called my friend Cassie but she didn't answer.
They then called Dr. Bizzari, my principal. She is an animal lover in the extreme. However, last Thursday she had an emergency appendectomy and hasn't been in school. She didn't even know that my dog died or that I was looking at new puppies. I am sure she was royally confused. I cannot wait to ask her on Monday.
Cassie saw the missed call and called them back. She answered their questions and all was good. (Thanks Cassie!)

She said we could have them right away. She inserted their microchips, put them in a crate, gave us two nylabones, two toys that smell like their litter, two bags of puppy food, and all of their paperwork. She even strapped their crate into the car for us.

We got home at 11:00. That gave me just one hour to unload the puppies (I wasn't expecting them to be able to come home with us today so the house was not ready) and to submit my homework for my masters. It was due at midnight. I got most of it in on time. I hope the professor goes easy on me!