It’s the middle of winter. The temperature doesn’t rise above freezing. It’s not pleasant to be outside for too long these days. The fog is thick and it dresses every surface in white. 

But last week we had a few sunny and beautiful days of vacation. We went sledding up the hill and we were greeted by the sweetest puppy. A one year old, gorgeous, playful dog with the sweetest temper. Conrad hastily brought her in the house. I tried to not get too attached, but I started picturing what it would look like having two dogs, in the eve of adopting another daughter. Honestly, even the thought soon became overwhelming, because we fostered the dog in our apartment for one night. She did fine, but she has a long way to go to be trained.  It gave us a little taste of the chaos a new addition brings to the household. And that in itself is good I guess. 

Alas, she loves the outdoors, and needs room to play.

It became clear that we can’t adopt her, but we kept feeding her and even lend her Rufus’ bed for the night. 

My heart was torn. She was practically unwanted. I know the other dog owners felt for her, but an apartment in not ideal for a dog, especially a bigger dog. Our lives are busier and busier, and about to get crazier soon. 

I cried. I wondered why I feel so emotional about this lost soul. I wanted to bring her in and yet I knew it’s not the best for her. Linda, our resident dog soon accepted her and mentored her, because we fed them together and we gave them scratches together. Linda is a matriarch and a leader of sorts, albeit a bit of a lone dog. 

My life is so crazy, I don’t understand why this dog business occupied so much of my mind and my emotions. I prayed for a good master to come and adopt her. But my faith was so faint. Then I started asking around every potential dog friendly – friend I could think of, if they might want to adopt her. To no avail.

Today we decided to take her to the vet and get her the necessary shots. We already made the appointment for after lunch. But as I passed by the window at 11:30 I saw a lady feeding the red dog, one kibble at a time, luring her. The dog was happy to follow. I went outside on the balcony and asked her if she wants to adopt the dog. She confirmed. I told her I was so happy to hear. We exchanged a few stories and I told her I was planning to take the dog to the vet. The lady, Ildi, came with us and she adopted the dog. Jackie named the puppy Ginger. 

It may sound silly but today’s events give me so much hope and joy. I prayed for a good master to adopt this dog, and I gained a friend. Ildi and us have a lot in common. And she said, when we dropped her off with her dog, that she is in awe that people like us exist, that we fostered the dog and took such an interest in her wellbeing without ulterior motives. 

This sounds ironic in the light of my last post about foster love. As we dropped them off at home, the dog wanted to follow me, escaping through the gate out of the yard. But we nudged her back in. Today will be hard, just a little bit, while she gets familiar with the new place.

There is another short and stocky dog there, Leda. Another rescue. Ginger was still tentative and a little uneasy, but I know she will be fine. And the best part, I can see this lady’s yard from my balcony. Jackie and her sister were invited to go pick cherries and apple from this large orchard come Spring, and we’ll have our dogs play and chase each other in field. 

I asked around for a forever family for this lovely dog. I shed tears for her. I prayed that God would find her a good home, surrendering my stress. And I’m still in awe of the specific way God answered my prayer.