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Adoption, who rescued who?

ADOPT 2010 CONTEST

So who was actually adopted here? I have asked myself this question so many times in the almost 5 years since I received the call that I had been chosen to adopt Levi, a 15 month old Weimaraner. In order to make heads, or tails, out of this story I have to back track a bit so allow me this indulgence.
It was January 2005 and I would be turning 55 in February so I got to thinking that maybe I’d consider retiring since I would have the age and time plus it would be good for us since I could be the day to day caretaker for my mother in law.
Things at work were changing and I had been the Database Administrator for the health-care program for my facility and 3 others in the northeast and spent a lot of time on the road attending to the needs of the clinics, basically hardware and software problems. I was also the UNIX Administrator for the program that generated our patient billing sheets for the ICD9 and CPT code entries by the provider and when I wasn’t too busy I worked on the network, answered PC trouble calls, stress was a free perk of the job.
The last dog we had was over 25 years previous since we knew a dog was only happy if it was exercised and had time with you and time was not easily obtained so thoughts of having a dog were squelched. I did discuss having a dog with my wife and she agreed it would be nice to have one again once I was retired and could attend to its day to day needs and she asked what I was thinking of getting and I told her I had 3 breeds in mind, German Short Hair, Viszla or Weimaraner and would prefer to adopt since it would mean more, she agreed and told me to look around an see what was available.
It was less than 2 weeks later when my wife called me at work and asked me once again what breeds I was interested in and I repeated the 3 I mentioned earlier and she told me that some folks were moving to Ireland and had to give up their 6 year old Weimaraner, Olive, and did not live far from where I worked. I got the phone number from my wife and called it and spoke to a very pleasant woman who was Olives owner.
We chatted for a bit and made an appointment when she and Olive could come over to meet us, I figured she wanted to check out where Olive might go to see if it met with her approval since she asked if we had a large fenced-in yard to which I told here we did not and that tying a dog up on a run or in a yard was not what I had in mind I wanted one of the dogs from these particular breeds since they needed a lot of exercise.
Olive and her master visited us and Olive liked me right off which her owner thought funny since she was not ordinarily overly friendly with men. She told us she would consider our adopting Olive and call us and we thanked her and they left.
We received a call 2 days later asking if we’d consider having Olive visit so I picked her up Thursday after work and brought her back Friday morning on my way in. We enjoyed ourselves a great deal and ended up deciding we’d take Olive for an overnight stay once a week with several weekend stays followed by our taking her 2 weeks prior to their move to Ireland when she would stay with us permanently which would be 10 days prior to my retiring, basically it would be 3 months transition.
Toward the end of February my mother in law had a minor stroke, coupled with the fact that she had Alzheimer's the idea of being her day to day care givers vanished since her needs were beyond our capabilities so she was placed in a adult care facility that could provide her with what was needed.
I was saddened by not being able to provide her with what she needed and having her be placed but it was the right decision. I was also glad that Olive spent time with us as I saw she would provide me with comfort, exercise and keep me busy hich would help me transition into retirement.
The last weekend stay over came and only 3 weeks before Olives family would be moving to Ireland and when I brought hr back home on my way to work she would not leave my side and placed her head on my right knee while I spoke with her master and I did not miss the sadness in her masters eyes when she did this.
I was in my office at work when the phone rang and I answered it. “I can’t do this” it took a few moments for me to recognize the voice that had just said that and then I realized it was Olives master. I asked what she meant and what I wasn’t expecting to hear was that she had decided not to give up Olive for adoption but to have her placed in 6 weeks quarantine and bring her to Ireland.
While I told her I understood her decision and wished her family, and Olive the best my heart wasn’t really meaning it. Hen I told my wife what had happened at dinner she was furious and again, I told her I understood, and respected, how hard that decision must have been abd once again my heart knew I was lying.
I had been deeply involved with a website since 1999 when I joined as a member and was made a moderator after 2 years it was Clark’s Classic Fly Rod Forum dedicated to those who shared a passion for bamboo fly rods. I enjoy fly fishing and bamboo is all I use and while trying to keep Olive out of my thoughts I would spend most of my evenings discussing bamboo rods.
It came as quite a shock when the owner of the site had decided he’d had enough of the squabbles that would happen and said he was closing the site down. I contacted him and told him the site had become too valuable a resource to be closed and would he consider turning it over to me and he agreed to consider it and a few days later agreed to me taking it over with the condition that it would not be named Clarks Classic Fly Rod Forum. I then asked if he would accept the Classic Fly Rod Forum as its new name and he accepted that.
As I had state earlier I would be retiring 10 days prior to having Olive come live with us but instead I would become the new owner of the forum 3 days prior to retirement so I would be busy. I spent nearly 3 weeks making changes to the look of the forum and expanding parts of it to give it a more aesthetic look and put the finishing touches in it just 2 weeks before my fishing trip to the Catskills in NY which would be the first of 6 I had planned.
During those final weeks prior to retirement I spent many hours looking at the dogs available for adoption on various websites and sadly not many were close to me so I got discouraged and spent more time getting ready for my retirement and fishing trips.
I went on my trip to the Catskills and returned home to do some repairs that had been neglected on our home and of course work on the website and surf for dogs up for adoption and finally found one close but when I went to meet him found he was not willing to meet people and did not pursue it further. I spent a little time each day only to not find any dogs close by and by close I mean 200 mile radius.
I was reading a post on the forum when my wife came in and asked if I checked for any dogs up for adoption and I told here I had nearly 15 minutes ago and figured it wasn’t going to happen any time soon and she said I should check again and when I did there was a dog that had not been there 15 minutes earlier and he was only 120 miles away so I called the number and was greeted with a we’re closed now and our office hours are from 9-4 and to please leave a message so I did.
Around 8:00 p.m. the phone rang and it was the young woman, her name was Candace, who ran the agency where the the dog was that I left the message on, she told me he was a 15 month old Weimaraner named Levi who had been given up for adoption due to separation anxiety and because the family that owned him had a 3 year old Weimaraner and 2 children under the age of 5 so they did not have the time necessary for a dog with so much energy. I made arrangements to come in the next morning at 10:00 and thanked Candace and hung up.
The next morning I left my home in southern Maine and started the near 125 mile one way trip to western MA, near the CT border, to meet Levi. I stopped for coffee about 15 minutes from where I expected to pull into the driveway where I would meet Levi, I’m a coffee fanatic and it settles me and the anticipation of meeting him was unsettling because not many of the breeds I was hoping to adopt show up in my area.
I pulled into the driveway a few minutes before 10:00 so I opened my coffee and turned off the CD so I could listen and see if I could hear any dogs because where I was stood a huge new england style house which did not fit with what I expected an animal shelter to look like, then I heard the barks, yips and howls and knew I was at the right place.
The shelter was in the basement of the house, the upstairs was living quarters for the manager and volunteers and the basement was where the dogs were kept, there was a walking area with play area inside and a few doggie play toys next to the building. I opened the door to the office and the doggie chorus continued to flow greatly enhanced in timbre once inside the confines of the office.
A few moments later a young woman came out of the kennel and into the office and introduced herself as Candace and l told her I had a 10:00 appointment to meet Levi. Candace gave me a little history on Levi and handed me a couple of pages that his owners made up giving information as well. Candace then asked if I would like to meet him and I said I did.
Moments later Candace came out with Levi on a leash and I saw a young Weimaraner who was about 15-20 lbs underweight, he hard a pink scar on his rear flank near his leg which looked like a large C, I could count every rib and bone on his body and when I patted him his skin was taut. I asked if I could walk him to the play area and off we went.
We got to the play area and Levi was happy to be outdoors but was not interested in playing so we walked, and talked a bit. What he did end up being interested in were a few Woodcock feathers I had brought with me and placed in the play area. While hunting was not a criteria for wanting to adopt a dog it would be a plus as I love to get out into the woods for a bird hunt now and again and the 3 breeds I was interested in were bird dogs and Levi was definitely interested and when I said “Good boy” he made serious eye contact and if you can imagine it looked like his eyes were smiling.
All in all we spent nearly 45 minutes with each other, me doing all the talking of course and petting him. We walked back to the office and Levi looked at me as if to say “What I do now”? I pat his head and told him it was OK he wouldn’t be here much longer.
Once inside the office I saw it was rather busy with folks here to see dogs and when Candace came over and asked how it went I asked to fill out adoption papers. Levi sat next to me the whole while and when he laid his head on my knee I nearly cried as memories of Olive hit me.
I took a few deep breaths and looked and him and smiled then told Candace I had completed the paperwork, she then looked it over and told me that there was a fee of $120 which was returnable if I were not chosen to adopt Levi. I asked how long will it take to know if I were chosen and was told it varies and they like to give the dog 2 weeks exposure and that there ere currently 7 applicants to adopt Levi counting me. I thanked Candace and told her my cellphone number was the number I gave and it has messaging service so I would get back with her as soon as I could if they had any questions for me and I left.
The near 125 mile trip home was bittersweet as it wrenched memories of Olive and new feelings for Levi who was so sweet I only hoped that not many more would file to adopt him as 7 was a big enough number to overcome as it was.
I waite 10 days before calling to see if there was any news about Levi and I was told they had trimmed the applicants down to 5 and that I was among them but they had not met with the committee to go over them but would sometime in the next week or so, I told Candace that I would be on the road about the time they make a decision and if she would let me know, yes or no, I would appreciate it and she told me she would do that.
The group I was meeting on this trip were members of the forum I now owned so it would be a group of bamboo fly fishers which is always so much fun and the gent that scheduled the gathering had rented a farm house in the Catskills and a number of us would be coming and going over the 10 days he had rented it for. I was to show up on Thursday when 2 others would be leaving and I would leave on Tuesday and 3 more coming in.
It was a fun gathering and even when you aren’t fly fishing or talking about vintage bamboo rods, or reels, there is so much to do in the Catskills. I had made plans to maybe fish the storied water in front of the Catskill Fly fishing Museum, the run there was named after Lee Wulff, a famous fly fisher and the man who developed the Wullf neared the museum I came around one of the most enticing piece of water on the river, it is called Painter’s Bend. Not only is it picturesque the fishing is very good which is why there’s never less than 7 fly fishers there at any time. When I got to Painter’s Bend it was empty and fish were rising so I slammed on the brakes and pulled into the parking lot and jumped out of my vehicle, donned my waders and strung up my rod and enjoyed 45 minutes of peace and solitude and then I got the shakes, of course standing in 48 degree water for that length of time would give anyone the shakes. I retrieved my line, broke down my rod and headed back to the Pilot so I could go to the museum and warm up.
As I was nearing Wulffs Run I noticed a lovely line being cast so I stopped to watch poetry in motion, the loops the fly fisher was throwing were magic and surreal and it was then I noticed it was a woman, not just any woman but it was Joan Salvato Wulff, the widow of the late Lee Wulff. I could not believe my luck at having Painter’s Bend all to myself and now watching Joan Salvato Wulff casting in the pool named for her husband!
I went into the museum to warm up and view the different items on display, purchased a few small mementos in the gift shop and glanced at the clock and realized I was to meet two friends and swap cigars so off I went.
On the way to meet my friends I saw a little out of the way What Not Shop and being a sucker for what not I decided to stop. At the front door were two gents having a discussion and I recognized one who was a serious collector and writer and he saw me and said hello. We spoke for a bit and he introduced me to his friend and when we said goodbye I thought to myself this has to be one of my best days ever.
Once inside I saw all kinds of what nots and then, in the alcove was a section of bamboo rods and fishing related items. I spent a little time looking over the rods but nothing spoke to me so I moved on to the books and there was nothing I needed to fill any of the holes in my library then I spied the reel display and a dainty little reel caught my eye and I had the proprietor open the case and a few minutes later I left with the reel and a thinner wallet, what a day.
Ten minutes later found me with my friends where we exchanged pleasantries, and cigars, over coffee then I told them I had to excuse myself since I was making the evening meal and had to get to the market and off I went. Got everything I needed to make the evening meal in record time and headed back to the farm.
Cellphone coverage in and around the Catskills is spotty at best so not having received any messages I wasn't very surprised with the coverage being so bad. As I drove along the winding country road that brought me back to the farm I would pass the Greek Monastery and generally there would be cell coverage and I thought I would call home and leave my wife a message telling her everything was fine and that I would let her know when I was on the road for home tomorrow.
There's a pull off across from the Monastery, probably put there by the monks to turn their farm vehicles around, and where I had planned to pull in to call my wife. All of a sudden my shirt pocket came alive with the sound of Reggae Music and strong vibrations which told me I had a message and I pulled off the road and dialed my voice-mail and saw I had 3 messages.
The first was from my wife checking in on me, the second was from Andre' the gent who had rented the farm telling me he was bringing us out for pizza and where to meet and the last message was from Candace asking me to call her.
My mind raced with thought as my fingers fumbled to find the autodial entry I had in my phone listing and then I heard the ring and Candace answered. I told her I was returning her call and she said she had some good news and some not so good news. My mind raced with what each was and asked her what was wrong and she told me Levi had his physical, a requirement once they had a candidate for adoption, and it was found that he had Lyme Disease and was currently being treated and then she said the good news is you've been chosen to adopt him if you want and we'd understand if you decided not to given the news of his having Lyme Disease.
I told Candace that while his having Lyme Disease was not what I expected to hear but it didn't change anything since where I live the Deer Tick, which is responsible for the disease, was a problem and even if I had raised him from a puppy he'd be exposed to that possibility and him having it just meant he'd need extra medical attention but when you adopt an animal you should be prepared for that. I then asked when I could pick him up and was told that would be at least another week because he would need to scheduled to be neutered prior to going to his new home so I asked if I could visit him on my way home and Candace said that would be great.
On the way out of the Catskills there's a huge animal shop so I stopped and picked up some dog toys, a hand tooled leather lease and matching collar for Levi plus a couple of sturdy bowls.
I stopped in at where Levi was and we visited for over an hour and I told him I'd be picking him up for good really soon and 8 days later I made the near 125 mile trip to do just that and in a couple of weeks it will be 5 years since that happened.
Levi has been a joy to us and even more to me as I was diagnosed with a non-curable form of non-Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2008 and he's been my comfort. He's definitely a happy dog, all you have to do is ask him, "Levi, are you a happy boy" and he does the same thing every time (please type the word adoption to see the photo).