Oh my god! I get my little girl today! I’m still in this state of suspended belief. I’ve been waiting for this day for so long. It’s kind of like my wedding day - all the way up to it it didn’t really seem real.

I have her collar and leash, bowls, crate (which still needs some new bolts to assemble), and a ton of puppy toys. I may go to Petco again tomorrow to buy a long lead that I forgot, and maybe some cookies or something for her. Food! I haven’t decided if she’ll eat the same kind of food as Zeeke or not. (I’m not a huge fan of puppy kibble.) I’m still not sure where I’ll put her crate; we were supposed to rearrange the bedroom before this, but of course we didn’t. It might fit on the wall on my side of the bed. If not, I’ll have to put it up against Zeeke’s crate.

I’m getting my baby girl!!

Faxed in the adoption contract using a free trial internet fax program. (The internet is a wonderful thing!)

She finally called. Talked to Den, we’re all set! She told him she’ll send me an email giving us the date and time we should pick Zoe up.

Email said tuesday evening! Tuesday evening I get my puppy. I looked up the address they gave for the pick-up, and it’s halfway between here and their main headquarters. YAY! We won’t have to drive all the way past Boston, instead we only have to drive to a place south of Worcester. Whew!

TUESDAY!!

got another call from the rescue person. Said she got my photos, it all looks good. Will be doing the vet check today - which is good cause late last night I did a check of the application I sent in and, while I put in all the info of the two vets I’ve used, I forgot to mention that at neither place are the records under my name. Oreo’s records are all under my parents’ name, and Zeeke and Joey’s are both under Den’s. So that would have been a bit of a problem! She also said that she’s going to call again tomorrow just to talk to Den for all of 2 seconds to make sure the dog adoption is okay with him too.

She said that the pup is on her way up north with the other puppies. (They were rescued from a shelter “down south” where they are so overcrowded dogs have days to live and even puppies are routinely put to sleep for lack of space and adoptees.) No date set yet on when we can pick her up - I expect they don’t want to give a date until A) we’ve been completely approved and B) they get the dog and have her checked out. But soon, so soon!

Just a quick update on Zoe: I took pictures of the house and emailed them to the lady yesterday. She had also said when she called that the last thing they had to do was check my vet references, which I of course am not worried about at all. All my pets are very well vetted. So hopefully the next email I get will be telling me I’m all set! Fingers crossed.

Heard from the rescue agency again. The problem they had (why the home check still isn’t done yet) is that they don’t have anyone out in this part of MA who can do home checks, so she asked if I could just email them photos of our place. I’ll need to take some more pictures, but then that should be done!

Update on Zoe: her and her sibling and another pup are tentatively scheduled to travel to MA (from wherever they were being fostered) on the 24th!

I think I’m going to name her Zoe. That’s the name I had picked out two years ago for my new puppy, and it is still the one I like best. It will be very difficult to get used to, because of the cat - I really wish I had changed his name, but like Den keeps telling me, we actually call him JoJo more often than not… that or Jo. We’ll just have to do it conciously now, I don’t want to confuse them.

We’ll have Zeeke and Zoe, our two dogs.

Another update from the adoption agency! She is doing very well health-wise, and it looks like they’ll be holding her for another two weeks after which she should be available to be adopted! Granted that’s 2 more weeks of waiting, but it gives me time to prepare. I replied and thanked her again for keeping me informed. It’s been so so hard for me to restrain myself asking for info every few days, but usually right after I delete a half-finished email, I’ll get one the next day from her. I also asked her how I sit with the pup - if I’m actually sitting first in line or if I’ll have to compete with others. I hate competing. And either way I really need to know if this is [nearly] a for sure thing or not so I can start preparing adequately (I said as much to her). But I think they (or at least she) are pretty impressed that I’m waiting it out for this puppy instead of going off to find the first available one. I think it underscores how much I want this particular puppy.

We are back from DCon, and my email was the first thing I checked online when we got home. Right before we left I got an email from someone within the adoption agency that all adoptions for that litter are being put on hold, as another dog in that foster home somehow contracted Parvo. I did a little online research on it, and it’s apparently very contagious and very deadly to puppies - almost all puppies who contract the disease die from it, and 2-3% of adult dogs do. I emailed back giving my best wishes to all the puppies and letting her know that I am willing to wait for Sarah. Upon returning home her latest email said that the puppies have been removed from the foster home and placed in observation at a vet’s office. They are all showing no signs of getting sick, and if any of them happen to do so they will be able to be treated ASAP.

She also said that based on my app, we would make a great home for a puppy. She’s going to call me this week to do a phone interview, and to arrange a home visit.