whaaa happened?

wow. just wow.

i was so scared that Maddy would be aggressive. or a barker or growler. or too jumpy. or display some other random trait that would make us not keep her.

ehhhhhhnt [that's a buzzer sound - similar(!) to the buzzer at the rink]. none of the above. dare i say she's perfect? if not perfect, pretty damn close and definitely worth the wait.

i've fallen in love with this dog that i've known for just over 3 hours.

Maddy and friends were supposed to arrive from Bakersfield at 4:30 or so. i left work around 2:30 so i could get to my parents' house in time to give us a chance to get her crate ready and drive to the meeting point. as an aside, i'm generally not a believer in crates, mostly because my previous dogs never used crates - but they were mostly outside dogs. and, the local representative of the lab rescue agency convinced us that it actually might make her transition easier since she's been in so many shelters and cages over the past few weeks. back to my point - we got a call at 4:00 saying that the driver had just left Bakersfield, so the meeting time was pushed back to 7:30. we had dinner and loaded her crate into the car. then we proceeded to pace, stare at the clock, feign business, but were really just waiting to leave.

we finally piled into my car and headed out to Salinas. the ride was very exciting - nervous energy, i guess. we pulled into the parking lot where we were to meet the crew and right away i saw a yellow lab and black lab being walked together. i knew right away that this was Maddy. she and her buddy, the black lab, were found together as strays. we were tempted to foster the black lab, too, but a family from san jose had already agreed to do so.

Maddy was so friendly right away. she's just gorgeous. reminds me a lot of Molly (which has been the source of a few crying bouts) and is ever so sweet. she ran right up to us with a wagging tail and smile on her face. she was happy to come with us and hopped right into the car, but her buddy the black lab cried and cried as we walked away. of course, that made me cry, too. we arrived home just after 8:15 and she hopped out of the car, took a brief tour of the front yard (while on leash) and then happily pranced into the house. we've kept her in the kitchen so far and have her crate in there. she sniffed every square inch of the kitchen, took some treats very gently from us, drank a little bit, and had a teeny bit of dinner. she seems to be good at letting us know when she has to go out and is very gentle on the leash. don't get me wrong - she can pull, but she's very mindful.

we could tell she was tired - it's been quite an ordeal for her. i can't even imagine how scary and traumatizing the past few weeks have been for her. but right now, as i type, i look up and she's fast asleep in her crate, snoring away.

i think she's found a home. and if anyone else wants to adopt her, tough. she's part of our family and we love her already.

one of my co-workers was joking that she'd see me next tuesday. truth be told, i am so tempted to take tomorrow and friday off of work. but, i'll be good and head back to santa cruz in the morning. maybe late morning. ;-) after all, there are a lot more rooms of the house to explore, front and back yards to sniff, tennis balls to fetch, pictures to take, etc.

i'll be back in monterey right after work on friday.