Black Dora

Dogs are miracles with paws.
~Attributed to Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy

On the day I said goodbye to Dora I asked her to send us a little black version of herself for her humans to adopt when the time seemed right. I didn't want another small white pup because I didn't want to feel like we were replacing Dora. I believed from her vantage point in heaven, Dora could bring the right puppy into our lives - my role, of course, only as aunt; Brian and Geraldine as parents.

A couple of months after Dora passed, Geraldine decided she was ready. She wanted a new puppy. It had to be a rescue dog, had to be small, female and non-shedding and housebroken and it couldn't be either too young or too old or be suffering any serious health issues. Ger didn't know how to find this dog but knew the sources to do so are on the internet. Ger can't operate a computer. So the job of finding a dog fell to me.

There are hundreds of dogs looking for homes available for rescue within the Toronto region. I looked at about two hundred of them before showing a cute little pup named Sophie to Geraldine. Sophie was being fostered near Niagara Falls. Her foster mother, a cop, met Brian and Geraldine in Grimsby so they could meet her. Brian liked her a lot. Geraldine didn't feel a bond. For the next few days they agonized. Geraldine was worried that if they didn't take her, Sophie wouldn't find a home. Brian wanted her and Ger was ready to take her though she didn't feel the connection. I stepped in. Sophie would find a home. She wasn't the right one. So one Sunday evening I looked at another eight hundred dogs. Then I came upon a black version of Dora. She is two years old, healthy, handed over to a shelter by her owners who apparently had an allergic child. She is being sheltered in Northern Quebec though a Brampton based rescue agency is brokering her adoption. She's adorable. Oh, did I mention...her name is Dora.

Ger still couldn't decide. She was worried about Sophie. When she called the adoption agency about Sophie, she was told Sophie had been placed in a new home and was no longer available. Ger was free to adopt Dora without guilt. Adopting a rescue dog is an arduous process. There were application papers to file and contracts to sign. Most of the process was done on line which means of course, I did it. The fees were sent to the shelter in Quebec and the wait began. It took almost two weeks. On Thursday we got the word. Everything had been processed. The adoption was finalized.

Dora will make the long trek from Northern Quebec (about eleven hours away) to Toronto on December 20. She will be welcomed into the arms and hearts of her new humans. Ger will give her a warm bath and comfy bed. I can hardly wait to meet her.