I Pitty the Beagle

by John Flores

Yesterday, I became a foster failure….again. I adopted old man Wally. I’m pretty sure you all saw this coming before I did but I truly had every intention of finding this guy his forever home. I just didn’t realize that it was right here with Penny, Elvis, and I.

Let me break down Wally’s story real quick for those of you who don’t know….

Wally was stuffed in a night depository box at a high kill shelter. Our girl pulling dogs at the time could not let him spend his last days there so she brought him to Priceless Pets. He was a depressed mess while he was there. In fact, the only reason he came to my house was to spend his last days (literally) in a home rather than a shelter. Well, that was over 2 months ago. He has Cushing’s disease, tumors and gall stones and he’s 12 years old. Not really the things you look for when you’re trying to adopt a dog.

You see, the day before yesterday, an application actually came in for Wally. I knew this was going to happen after I got him tattooed on the inside of my arm. I spoke with Ashlee and Mandy and I told them this. “I’m going to call them and feel them out. If I don’t feel it’s a good fit, I’m adopting Wally.” They agreed and I called the potential adopters. Turns out he would be living with a senior man. He was looking for a buddy. A buddy to hang out with who was somewhat “low-maintenance”. I spoke with the man’s son for a good while. When I hung up the phone, I honestly did not know what to do.

What if this was the perfect home for Wally? Who am I to deny Wally of that? He was my foster and that was my job, to find him a home. I decided to sleep on it and make my decision in the morning. All I could dream about was the house without Wally in it. I imagined Wally in a house with no dog, without Penny and Elvis chasing the ball with him. And who was I going to pull around in the red wagon?? There was no way Wally was leaving me. This man would have to find his dad another dog. Wally was part of MY pack.

Mandy had told me a story about her first senior dog (Rosalee) and how someone wanted to adopt her dog and she said there was no way she was letting her go because she didn’t feel that anybody was capable of giving her a better life. This is EXACTLY how I felt about Wally and the only way to keep him here was by adopting him…which is exactly what I did yesterday at noon. And while we were taking our adoption photo, Wally turned his head to me and licked my face. This was the first time he had done that since I’d taken him in. Right after that, our adoption manager yelled out “It’s adoption day!!” While everyone was cheering, Wally started howling in his red wagon. He knew exactly what was going on.

I know a lot of my friends outside of animal rescue are wondering, “Why would you adopt him?” “He’s old and he’s probably not going to live that long.” And I get it. Most people like shiny new things. Don’t get me wrong, I do too. But a dog is not a “thing”. A dog is a being. And I don’t pick the beings I love based on how “shiny and new” they look because when you truly love someone they’re always “shiny and new”. So when I look at Wally, I don’t see what your average person sees. I see a beautiful dog who has waited 12 years for his forever home. I see a dog who has been re- energized by the younger dogs in his pack. I see a dog who actually helps me with my fosters in evaluating a dog and keeping them in check. I don’t see a dog that nobody wanted. I see a dog that was meant to be in my life. I once had a friend tell me, “I would rather live happy the last 5 years of my life than sit and wonder if I was with the right person for the last 20.” Well, I don’t know how much longer Wally has left on this Earth and honestly, it doesn’t really matter. Nothing is guaranteed, especially tomorrow. So today, I will enjoy Wally and will worry about tomorrow, well…tomorrow.

Welcome to the pack, Wally. Not only do I “Pitty the Bull” but I also “Pitty the Beagle” now, too. Conrad, you can move Wally over from “My Fosters” over to “My Pack” now.

John Flores

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