On Saturday, March 29, 2003, we went to visit a couple animal shelters in Arlington and Alexandria, VA. We met several dogs that were cute, but only one really pulled at our heartstrings. At the Alexandria Animal Welfare League, we met Serendipity. The League's form on her cage described her as a 1-year-old German Shepherd/Siberian Husky mix. They later told us they thought she was closer to 2. We played with her in the indoor meet-and-greet room, since it was raining, and fell in love with her. The only problem we could see was her excitement wetting, but that was such a minor problem.
Serendipity already had one application on her. As we discussed whether or not we should submit an application, Serendipity was busy meeting the "other family," who also had other pets. Turned out she didn't do well with their other pets, so our turn was up for her, if we filled out an application. And we did. That night, we discussed whether or not the timing was right to get a dog. We had some work we wanted to do on the house, and we had a wedding in TN the end of April.
The next day, we had our home visit with a woman from the Welfare League. After meeting with her, we knew we wanted to adopt Serendipity. But the League wasn't sure if she was spayed, so on Tuesday, she was to visit the vet for her operation. Monday, we traveled back down to Alexandria to play with our new friend. It gave us a chance to get to know her a bit better. We noticed that she's a bit of a priss, and she's very particular. She knew which ball was hers and would only bring back that one! On Tuesday, the League called to say Serendipity was already spayed, and we could pick her up at the animal hospital that afternoon.
We brought her home and renamed her Athena. She was spoiled right from the start, with two doggie beds, several toys, and a couple types of doggie treats. Although we had some difficulty with her while we worked on the house, she is back to normal now. Athena is very energetic and loves to go to the dog park. And her favorite member of the family is whoever is going to take her out! |
