I suppose it was bound to happen. I knew Joel's parents would find their house quite simply too empty after Brandy was gone, and I figured it was merely a matter of time before one of Long Island's finest shelters placed their third adoptee with the Jackel family of Queens. Once a house has known the pitter patter of (four) little feet, it seems just wrong without the love of a good dog, I guess.
A poodle named Julie will be joining the family sooner rather than later. Julie is 12. She already has cataract in one eye, but Joel's mom wants nothing more than for Julie to spend her twilight years in a loving home, sleeping in a cozy bed, and enjoying more than her fair share of boiled hamburger.
This is an amazing act of selflessness and generosity. Although bringing home a puppy would definitely be a culture shock after Brandy's "lady of a certain age" pace and exercise needs, Joel's dad seems a little reserved about falling in love with a dog in her twilight years. I have to say, that was my first thought, too.
I mean, I get it. I really do. Older dogs need homes, badly. But how about a dog in her afternoon years? Or her late morning? Why twilight? Why not noon? Yes, a nice homeless dog smack dab in the middle of her life; that sounds nice, doesn't it? This is such an act of generosity, an adoption with the best interests of the human heart are being placed well behind what's best for the canine one.
Man, I hope I get to a point in my life where I can make choices in that same state of grace. I hope Julie acts like Gwen's parents' dog. They have the best poodles EVER.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
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5 comments:
That really is amazing of Joel's parents -- I always see older dogs on Petfinder (not that I spend a lot of time looking at pictures of dogs I could never adopt... I would never do that) and wonder who is going to be selfless enough to take them. Seriously, tell them I think they're awesome.
Also, poodles can live for quite a long time, especially if they're small ones. We never knew her exact age, but Puddles was probably 16 or 17 when she was died, and she was totally healthy up until the end. If Julie (that is such a cute funny human name for a dog, too) is OK other than the cataract, they may have a few good years with her.
This is exactly why I'm not allowed to look at Adopt-a-Lab anymore... seriously, some of the stories break my heart... and you know by now we'd have about 14 dogs.
Joel's parents are truly amazing for what they are doing.
So um... what does one do after leaving the comment- go over to adoptalab.org! Oh the cuteness... if only we had all the money in the world to adopt and love them all!
Hats off to Marty and Lyse for giving this dog a loving home. There's no guarantee that a younger dog would live to see her twilight years anyway--look at Asia. She was 7 when she died. But, yes, it's hard to know that time spent with an older dog is necessarily limited. Still! New dog! Good home! Life good!
I just got a call that Julie is home! She is asleep on Marty's lap. She sounds like a sweetie! I can't wait to meet her.
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