Ginny's World
When we moved back to Wisconsin and bought a house, Sarah was adamant it meant we should get a dog. No longer could I use the excuse that our lease didn't allow for pets. No longer could I point to our multiple thousand-mile trips every year between Virginia and Wisconsin as an example of why we couldn't provide proper care or afford to board such a beast.
I still resisted when we first got settled in our new house, but then we met Ginny.
I saw your name and number on the wall
Sarah talked me into at least volunteering at the Humane Society of Barron County so we could spend time with dogs. She, however, already had her eye on one older girl named Ginny. Of course, Ginny ended up being one of the two dogs we walked during volunteer orientation and we fell in love. She clearly loved me the most, but that's beside the point.
Ginny's estimated to be 10-12 years old, but she had some good oomph when we started our first walk. She got tuckered out pretty quick, though, and we thought, This is perfect. Here's a dog who won't need to run around all day and is pretty chill. She has soulful eyes, and she'll just stare at you as you give her pets. Aaugh!
Ginny, I got your number
We made arrangements to foster Ginny: in part because neither of us have had a dog since we were kids, and in part because she's older and we wanted to see how she'd do with stairs. It seemed likely we'd adopt, but fostering provided a nice buffer if she simply hated living with us. Spoiler alert: she is more spry than we expected, and she didn't hate our house one bit.
We brought her home the afternoon of September 24, 2021. By September 25, we knew we couldn't send her back. I mean, just look at her face. We gave it until Monday to send an email saying we wanted to adopt her, but each day she was getting more comfortable and seemed so at home. The appointment was set for October 1, one week from when we picked her up.
I need to make you mine
It was an emotional afternoon going to sign the paperwork, with plenty of happy tears from us and the HSBC staff. Big thanks to Katie Bard, the Shelter Executive Director, for all her help and for caring so much for those animals. When we got home from making it official, we took some family photos on our front steps.
As Ginny gets settled in her new home, Sarah and I still hope to make time to go walk other dogs who need lovin'. I encourage anyone with an interest in animals to seek out their local shelter and see what they can do to help. There's a great need, and surely the benefits are two-way.
"For to him who is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion."
Ecclesiastes 9:4, WEB
Tags: ginny, meet-the-mayhaks, photography