IT'S SO HARD TO SAY GOODBYE

Unfortunately, it's been a couple months since I've made a "real" post so I am going to do my best to recollect the series of events that made it a very busy summer!

One Monday, about a month after Shaka arrived we got a visit from the landlord:/ He told me I had too many dogs and there were barking complaints from neighbors. I knew of Shaka's severe separation anxiety and only left her home alone for one afternoon, which was actually when I realized she even had a problem. Since then I had been super careful to take her everywhere with me, but that one afternoon was all it took. The worst part was, that he told me he only wanted me to have ONE dog and would only have until Friday to figure it out.

After he left, I sat on floor and held my sweet Honeybee. I told her I wouldn't let her down.

My initial reaction was to do anything to keep our family intact and scrambled to figure out how we could find and afford a place that would allow a self-employed web designer with 3 pit bulls and 2 cats to live. I considered finding temporary homes for Shaka and the cats and taking my 2 pups to Tahoe to stay with my mom. Unfortunately, this was the same week my mom was visiting her parents who are 95 and it is always very stressful tome for her. So she was not at all sympathetic to my situation. She told me I had to take Shaka to the shelter and I told her I would sooner live in my car, than risk my beautiful girl being euthanized. My mom said, "Who cares? She won't even feel it." I hung up on her in tears and took the dogs on a hike to do some soul-searching.

Later my mom apologized and was more helpful. A couple days later, I decided that the right thing to do was find Shaka a really great home. We had all grown so attached and if I had a big house of my own, it would be a no-brainer. But I just had to be realistic about our situation. And once I got past the initial denial and stubborn I-will-not-give-up-on-this-dog phase, I realized that it really was hard caring for 3 dogs on my own and always worrying that they were all getting enough time, love and couch-space.

The good news was that Shaka had an A++ temperament, stunning good looks and she had swallowed up a multitude of commands in the month that I had her. I knew it would be super easy to find her a great home. But it would have to be the right home, as she could be painfully shy and even depressive around the wrong person/people. She also adored other dogs and I really wanted her to go to a home with a friendly dog or dogs. I also wanted her to go to someone who worked from home or could spend a lot of time with her because all she really wanted in life was to lie her head on someone's lap and never be alone again.

With that, I had to make the heart-breaking ad to find her new home. Luckily, I was all cried out from earlier in the week. But I still had the looming discussion with my landlord to overcome. I had to convince him to let me stay there with my 2 dogs or else we were really going to have to hit the road. There was no way I would ever let go of my babies.