whaaa happened?

my parents have been thinking about adopting a dog for a little while now. of course, no extra prodding from yours truly. ;-) we (which technically refers to "they" - my parents, but come on, i'm in this with them!) have been receiving emails from a rescue group for a few months now, and it just hasn't seemed like *the* right dog has come along.

when i was home on saturday, my dad and i went to the spca. there were some very playful pups, but none that really called to me or my dad. there was one dog at the county shelter who was very sweet and shy - it seemed like she was trying to talk to us. we got home and told my mom about her, but she didn't jump at the idea of this dog. the one thing that made me feel okay with visiting the shelters and not bringing a dog home was that there were so many people - families, couples, single folk - all lining up to adopt furry friends. anyhow, it was a bit discouraging that we had no luck at the shelters after already waiting a few months with the rescue organization.

i got home from more cortisone injections on saturday evening when the phone rang - it was for my mom. the local representative of the rescue organization had heard of several labs that were rescued from a central valley shelter and were in need of foster homes. among those dogs is a 3 year old, yellow female lab. (just what we're looking for!) she said that if my parents provided a foster home for this dog and she fit in well at their home, then they would have first dibs at adopting her. wow. my mom told my dad about this and after thinking about it for about 2 seconds, my dad said "YES!" we called back and it was set that we'd pick up this dog on saturday the 18th, once she got into town.

again, wow. we ran some errands on sunday - bought a new collar, some dog food, treats, etc. and a crate. it was weird getting a crate because none of our dogs had ever used one, but at the rescue rep's suggestion, we did get one. i got back to santa cruz and started counting down the days until the 18th.

last night consisted of lots of emails back and forth with name suggestions - for now, she's temporarily going to be "Maddy". we'll have to meet her to see if the name fits her, but that's what she'll be called for now.

another wow - my mom emailed this afternoon saying that Maddy will be here TOMORROW! some kind person is driving her from the central valley to the monterey area so that she and some other dogs can get to their foster homes sooner. much better than staying in a shelter or being boarded.

so, looks like tomorrow is a 1/2 day at work for me! we meet Maddy around 3:00 and i can't wait. good thing our coed game is at 11:15 tonight, because i wouldn't be getting much sleep anyhow!