Aurora

I haven’t mentioned Aurora here yet, have I?

Back on May 1 my husband and I biked up to Reston for the annual Reston Pet Fiesta. I told Andrew that if we went to the Pet Fiesta that it was very likely that I would want to take a dog home, and that I would probably not take no for an answer this time. He still said we could go.

Once we got to the Pet Fiest, we started at one end of the row of tents filled with dog and cat rescue groups, dog treat vendors, pet charities, and pet product vendors. We stopped at every rescue looking for a dog who would “talk” to me. We made it to the end of the row, with no dog prospects. I was disappointed, but knew that I didn’t want to go home with the wrong dog. We turned around and made our way back to where we started, and I kept stopping at the rescues in case there was someone I had missed.

When we were nearly back where we started, I saw her:

I can’t say what drew me to her. Maybe it was because she wasn’t running around like a crazed dog, unlike many of the dogs up for adoption. Maybe it was her eyes. Somehow, though, she spoke to me, and I went to sit with her. It became clear that she was a real sweetheart. The rescue’s owner suggested we take her for a little walk and get to know her. That’s where I snapped this pic:

Long story short, we decided to take her home. We had to bike home first then drive back to pick her up, and I could hardly wait. She seemed to fit right in:

We’ve had her now for almost 2 months, and she really does fit into our household well. The cats still aren’t completely sure about her, but they are all starting to come around in their own time. Duncan has refused to hide from the beginning, and he’ll walk right past her without flinching (though he will sometimes grump at her for being to close even when he’s the one who put himself so close). Artemis comes out occasionally, even braving walking past Aurora to get onto our bed at night. Ares? Well, he’s been hiding most of the time, but today he did get within a couple feet of a sleeping Aurora by choice.

It’s still a little unbelievable that I finally have a dog – I’ve wanted one since my childhood dog died in 1992. It wasn’t practical until now. And even now I wonder if we should have waited given that Ares is going through chemo and it’s maybe not the best time. But I was tired of waiting, and Aurora has turned out to be the perfect fit for our household. It might go without saying, but I’m so happy she’s a part of our pack now.
  

Tags: pets