Momma does cry...

Good old Dusty... I 'rescued' him from the SPCA in 1996, when he was 10 months old. He was my best buddy in my single days...He ran 20 miles with me when I trained for a marathon in 1998...He was a great step-brother to my husband's furry child...He protected our boat from crazy jet skis by chasing them in the water...He helped raise John, often allowing the then toddler to poke at his eyes...
Then, Sarah was born and we were no longer docked at a private residence with a large yard. Getting my senior pup down the 300 foot dock...with an infant and 3 year old...in the winter...several, several times per day while daddy was at work... was a bit much for this momma.
Off to Grandpa's house he went, and has been for almost 2 years. But now, Grandpa is retiring south soon, and hopes to sell his home (without worrying about a dog...)
What a trying time! We tried to find friends who may be able to take Dusty, we called rescue operations...no such luck for a senior dog. I called the SPCA. The nice woman on the phone assured me that they are a "no kill" shelter, euthanizing only the aggressive animals.
Off to SPCA I went on Sunday night. I was using my logical side. How was I going to do it with nearly the same issues, and an even older dog...?
I am not sure if it was the look on Dusty's face when I left, or the volunteer saying that he would be a hard placement...or that I was abandoning my loyal family member...but I was heartbroken, and I could barely contain myself. I nearly cried the whole way home. John kept asking what that noise was..."mommy has the sniffles".
I ended up calling the SPCA on Monday morning, but they were closed.
I left a message for the foster home coordinator, indicating that I would happily keep Dusty with me while he was advertised on their website. She called me back on Tuesday. No go as a foster home. In fact, she made it pretty clear that Dusty would certainly be euthanized because of his age! She added that he "wasn't doing well".
I plopped the kiddos in the car and was back to the SPCA in less than an hour. Thankfully they didn't charge me the adoption fee ($110) to get him back.
Dusty is home. I am relieved...