"NO"
"But Mom, just listen to me, she has really long butter cream hair and she is so sweet and..."
"NO"
"She's all alone and she doesn't have a home and I really want to take her..."
"NO"
"But Mommmm!"
"No, when you are old enough and live on your own and think you are responsible enough, you can adopt a pet, but not until then. I'm not taking care of it, what if it has a problem? What if it pees everywhere? You don't know its history - you don't know anything about it!"
Well, that is where it started and this is where it went.
Years passed, a college graduation passed, a few apartments with about 20 different roommates passed and then the little girl in that above conversation ended up being an English teacher in South Korea. And her apartment was quiet. And all of a sudden, on one quiet day, she realized it had finally happened - it was time to get a cat. But a lot of years had passed, and her affinity towards cats had waned and she didn't want one - she wanted a dog. Maybe it was a good thing she had waited after all.
After hours of research and phone calls and pondering she had made up her mind - she had no idea what she wanted.
A tall dog?
A short dog?
A fast dog?
A slow dog?
An old dog?
A slow dog?
A tall dog would be nice with its long slender legs. But maybe it would be too tall to bring on the train, and quite possibly, it could be taller than her.
A short dog would but cute with some little stubby legs, but what if he got lost behind piles of books and clothes?
A fast dog would be enviable. All of the people at the park would stop to look at that fast dog go! That fast dog might be too fast, though, and he might be hard to catch.
A slow dog... she could catch a slow dog. A slow dog could never run away.
An old dog may be noble, calm and right but could he stand the 15 hour flight back to Boston? How could she know?
With questions multiplied and answers divided, she boarded the train to meet with a group of people going to a dog shelter a few hours west of Seoul. People asked what she was looking for and she said... I-don't-know! A big dog! A small dog! A wide dog! A nice dog! A silly dog! I-don't-know!
***
After a few hours of trains, cabs and vans they finally arrived at the shelter. She didn't know what she was expecting but it surely wasn't this! She imagined it would be orderly with dogs sitting and playing in large cages. But instead it was a large enclosed area with hundreds - literally hundreds - of dogs running free. And they were all running - at her! All of them!
Do you know what it is like to have a few hundred dogs run straight to you, all equally eager and excited? It is cute, and it is a little scary, it's also dirty with all those muddy paws, it's loud with those sharp barks and it is - overwhelming!
After looking and petting and walking with the dogs she looked at her new friend and said "How are you supposed to know?" and he said "When you find the right one, you just know"
She started to get a little worried. She liked the short one and the tall one and the wide one and the spunky one. She also liked the calm one and the worried one. The only thing she knew, for sure, was that she still did-not-know.
The day wore on and it seemed like everyone had found their perfect match except for her. She was disappointed but thinking of her next trip out and the possiblity of finding the right little guy. And she also thought - maybe, after all, this is not the right time.
One more swoop through the shelter and on her way out the door she noticed a spot she hadn't been to. In the corner there were a few cages stacked up and in the highest cage a tiny, tiny, tiny wet nose was poking out. The cage was nearly above her head but she walked towards the little nose and as she got closer, the nose disappeared.
She jumped up and looked inside and there were 4 little tiny baby puppies. How could she walk by these little guys so many times? She opened the door of the cage and 3 little tiny baby puppies went running towards the back of the cage. They were scared! But one little tiny baby puppy was too slow - too tired - and too confused to run with his brothers and sisters. He sat there with a serious look on his tired little face and he did not move. She reached her hand in and pulled out this tiny little puppy and he was shivering and cold. She put him in her sweatshirt and his little head was poking out.
Almost immediately the shelter keeper, who spoke no English, came running over and showed her, with hand gestures and smiles and frowns, that the puppy was sick and he needed to go to the doctor. She showed that he was 2 months old and that he needed to stay warm. She explained that she should be sure to keep his tiny little wet nose warm.
Is this the one? She took a few steps, and a few more steps. She looked at the little puppy and he looked at her and she was sure about only one thing - she knew! This was the one. She had been so excited that she never checked to see if it was a little girl or a little boy. She checked. A little boy... a sweet little baby boy puppy.
She kept him tucked in her sweatshirt and they went immediately to a vetrenarian office close by. The Dr. said that the little guy had Kennel Cough and that he needed a few shots and a pink liquid medicine. He was to take the medicine 3 times per day and the Dr. showed her how to life the lip of the puppy and squirt the medicine in and that little dog ate the medicine right up. And he said:
"Keep the puppy warm, give him a nice place to sleep and no baths for 2 weeks"
No baths for 2 weeks? This little puppy was very cute, and quite sick and quite stinky from being in the shelter but ok - no baths? No baths!
So she took her stinky little sick puppy home and he slept the entire ride. When they got to her apartment in Seoul, finally, he took two steps towards a basket, she helped him inside and there he went to sleep.
My new friend covered me with a towel and placed a funny looking teddy bear next to me and I snoozed and snoozed and snoozed.
The next morning, my very first morning in my new apartment in Seoul, my new friend held me up in front of the camera and took a picture of me and this is what I looked like!
Stay tuned, you'll be excited to hear about what happens next.
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