Kai’s Story.
Adopting Kai.
I was not ready for a dog.
After everything we went through, loosing Eco.
Over a year passed by, and I was really starting to grasp life with no responsibilities. But there was a hole missing in the puzzle. One day, Chris finally said it. “Don’t you want a dog?”
I’m not going to lie. There were times in that year that went by where I searched the Humane Society’s website. Hoping I would see the one. Nothing clicked though. Until he asked me that question. I instantly went back to the website and there she was. I knew it was our dog instantly.
The First Visit.
We went to visit her at the West Suburban Humane Society. Chris kept on telling me, we are just going there to meet her. We don’t even know if we are going to get her. It’s just to see if she is a good fit. What if some one else already has her picked out? The excuses went on… but I knew what was going to happen. I was on a mission to adopt this dog on day one. The only reason I knew she was the perfect dog for us was the two photos they shared on the website. One with submissive ears and so happy. In the other photo, she sat there with perky ears sitting very attentively.
She was 4 months old (the same age as Eco when we got her). We knew nothing about her until we arrived at the shelter and we found out that she had been living at a foster house with her sister, and an older dog for a short time. Her whole family, siblings and Mom were at a kill shelter in Southern Illinois before they ended up in the hands of the West Suburban Humane Society. All of the siblings went separate ways, to different foster homes.
Her shelter name was Kookaburra, after an Australian bird. Given she is part Australian Cattle-Dog, and part, even the vet can’t figure it out.
Her foster family named her butterscotch and I could see why with how sweet she is and her dark color with bits of brown. We adopted her the day we met her. But we had to wait over a month to take her home. It was around the holidays, and anytime you adopt a dog from a shelter like that they have to be spayed/neutered.
That month felt like forever. As we waited we got the house ready like any empty nesters would do. We got her a kennel for the upstairs and downstairs. Food bowls, puppy pads, grooming supplies and a few toys. We were ready for anything she needed supply wise.
The First Day in Kai’s new home: spoiler, she freaked out!
When we brought her home from the vet after the procedure, it was as if we were aliens taking home abducting her. We made the mistake of letting her off-leash in our fenced in backyard as she ran around frantically trying to find any way out. When we finally got her inside she was so shook up. We fed her and she looked so scared and lonely. Where did my family go?
The best thing about this whole adoption through the foster family, they gave us a gift box of supplies for her. Her pink stuffy toy was in that box. I had forgot about it in all the rush of trying to get her settled. But she sniffed it out and was so happy when she found that toy — to have something familiar.
We tried to leash her up to get her to go outside and she was too afraid to get hooked up to the leash. Chris stayed with her right by the front door. She looked so homeless and alone. But he knelt down with her, leash in hand as she stared at the door hoping her foster parents would come to the rescue. She waited. He waited. Then she fell asleep and he knelt there the entire time until she woke up and was ready to go outside.
She spent that first night on the floor, in a safe spot we made for her with a bed and option to go into the kennel.
The Second Day.
She was still very confused figuring out her new surroundings. We were able to get her out more comfortably on the leash, but still very reluctant.
The vet told us to leave the cone on her head for like, 14 days straight. She didn’t like it. We took it off, watched her all the time and she never licked her surgery wound. But we were still worried with that an night. We put her in her safe spot at night, and I put that cone on her hed. Her hed slumped down to the floor and I could almost hear her say… “I guess this is my life now.” That lasted about 5 seconds. I took the cone off. We thought she would fall asleep like the night before, but she kept putting her paws on the bed asking to come up.
Now She’s a Bed Dog.
Chris picked her up into bed, and its been the same ever since. She is a total bed dog. The two kennels we got her, she never used them. We ended up getting her some stairs to climb up into bed. That’s never what I imagined with getting a new dog. I was so use to our reclusive Eco, a solo floor sleeper for life. But we adapted with her every step of the way, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Even with the whole kennel thing. We thought that was where she would be when we go to work. But it never really worked out. As much as I practiced with her, she never liked being boxed in like that. So we just decided to trust her. It wasn’t always the best coming home to stuff torn up, but for the most part she has been very good.
The 3 Day, 3 Week, 3 Month… Now They are Home Adoption Rule.
It had been over twelve years since I had a puppy. Everything felt new again. The Humane Society gave us a pamphlet about how long it takes for a dog to adjust to their new home. The first 3 days are filled with stress and decompression. Within 3 weeks you start to see them get comfortable and their personalities emerge. By 3 months, that is when they finally feel at home.
Everything about this is true. When you get a new dog it takes time for them to figure out their home and how they fit in with your pack. It was so fun to go through this period again. All of the things I stressed about, did happen, but they were not as big of a problem as I thought they were going to be.
Kai will be 1 year old on August 26th.
As I write this, Kai will be one year old in two days. We brought her home at 5 months old. I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. It always goes too fast. All of my fears and anxiety of getting a new dog have totally washed away. I love the challenge and light that she brings to life everyday. Looking back now, I know my instincts were so spot on from those puppy photos on the adoption site. She is THAT dog that I saw in the photos. And so much more that anything I could have ever expected. I’m a firm believer that animals come into our lives for a reason. They have such shorter lives than us. It is so heartbreaking to loose them. But even that short amount of time, they are our spirit guides. It is so important to listen to them. They know apart of us, more than we know ourselves and they tune into that. They get us OUTSIDE! To enjoy the ride
