Meet my dog!

I’ve dreamed of the day when I would write this post. Now that it’s finally here, I’m almost at a loss for words. How do I tell this story in a way that will do our new baby justice? How do I put into words all of the feelings we’ve felt over the past couple of weeks? It’s at times like this that I wish I paid more attention in that AP English class (nerd alert). But I guess the only way to tell the story is to start at the beginning and how we ended up adopting a dog of our own.

My husband and I got married in April 2016 and we always knew we wanted to have a dog. But before we adopted, we wanted to settle into marriage and give ourselves a year of traveling and very little responsibility. The plan was to get a dog in the Spring of 2017, but you know what they say about plans. Craving some fur babies at home, we decided to foster baby kittens in February 2017. We brought home three kittens named Mac, Roni, and Cheese. Sadly, little Mac didn’t make it and I was left shattered and immediately forged a deep bond with the remaining two. When it came time to for them to go back to the shelter, I simply couldn’t give them up. We became the proud parents of Roni and Cheese on May 21, 2017.

Never having cats before, they kept us on our toes and showed us a love we had never experienced before. As we figured out our new roles as cat parents, we put our plans for a dog on hold. Rescue in Style was only just getting started and writing about adoptable dogs when only having cats became a weird spot to be. Still, we knew we couldn’t bring a dog into our house at the time, and patiently waited until we would be done traveling and everyone was settled.

While we were in Florida in early April, my husband and I discussed and we knew it was finally time to start looking. I sent an email to Greyhounds Only, telling them we were ready to adopt a dog. I also checked back on a few of the dogs I had met during this journey that I totally fell in love with. Sadly (but fortunately for them!) both Sundance and Mia had been adopted.

I heard back from Greyhounds Only quickly, inviting me to look at a few of their dogs. I was so nervous, what if I didn’t connect with any of them? LOL, okay, Christine. I met eight hounds and really liked three of them, but I specifically connected with one named Franny. She was a happy, goofy girl who only had eyes for me. Unfortunately, Chris couldn’t come with me that day, so I said goodbye to my favorites and told Barbara he and I would find a time to meet my top three later that week. This is when I started panicking. What if Chris didn’t love Franny like I did? What if he fell in love with a different dog?

The next day (because I have zero patience and anxiety is so real) Chris and I went to meet with the three dogs. I told him I had fallen in love with one in particular, but didn’t want to sway his opinion so I didn’t tell him which dog it was. We first visited with Franny, and he really liked her. She gave him kisses and followed him around like she was already his. But we had two more dogs to see so I held my breath. The next two were so sweet and great dogs, but when he interacted with them, I knew it wasn’t the same. I bravely asked him, “okay, so who do you love?” Without hesitation, he pointed to my Franny and said, “that’s our girl.” I  broke down in tears as we smothered her with kisses and love. She was going to be our dog.

After that, Franny went into foster to ensure she was okay with cats and learn how to be a dog. Since she’s a retired racing dog, she had never been up or down stairs, she didn’t know what hardwood floors, beds, couches were… everything was new. Luckily, she did fantastic with her foster parents and siblings so she was ready to be ours forever.

We’ve officially had her five days, and it’s been a fairly smooth transition. For the most part, she ignores Roni and Cheese (much to their delight) and she’s great with everyone she’s met. She’s already mastered pottying outside and she loves her crate. She sleeps through the night and hardly barks. In our eyes, she’s perfect.  As I write this, she’s sprawled out sleeping soundly on her bed with the faintest smile on her lips. I like to think she knows she’s home and forever ours.

So, meet Rawlings, our dog!

A very special thank you to everyone who helped us in finding her: Barbara, the incredibly dedicated Director who works tirelessly for Greyhounds Only and who I consider a friend. Jay, the Kennel Manager for Greyhounds Only who worked around our schedules to help us meet and then visit with Franny. Rebecca, Franny’s foster mom who showed her the ropes and gave her so much love in her first home. Lisa, for being our cheerleader along the way. Lastly, Trisha, the adoption counselor who gave us all the best advice and guided us through the adoption process. Chris and I (and Roni and Cheese) are so grateful for all the help and love you’ve shown us on this journey – thank you!

THE RESCUE:

Nope, you can’t have her, but there are plenty of Greyhounds looking for their forever home! Click here to see the hounds available.

THE STYLE:

I struggled with what to wear for this one. Did I want to do a huge glamorous dress or was a casual outfit enough? I know it’s silly but in the end, I wore something I’d wear any day while out and about with our new pup. Shop the look below!

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xoxo,

Christine

All photos: Margaret Rajic