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| Finnegan at 3 months old |
We’d been
looking for a pet since 2011. Our beautiful
cats, Alpha and Beta, died within a year of each other in 2007 and 2008. For a
while I couldn’t bear the thought of having a new pet(s).
The pain
I felt during my cat’s illnesses and their deaths took a while to resolve to a
muted sadness. Like all losses, this evolved
into acceptance and the ability to smile at the happy memories of the great
times we had with them.
Over the “cat years” I developed severe
allergies and asthma, which my Doctor attributed to felines in the home.
So the
search was on for a dog. I needed a dog
that was hypoallergenic. Of course no
Dog is truly hypoallergenic – typically one becomes allergic to either the dog’s
dander or the saliva. However, there are
some dogs that are less likely to cause allergic reactions in sensitive people.
We both
agreed we preferred a small dog. I
needed a dog that didn’t shed or shed minimally.
We
researched breeds and settled on toy poodles.
We looked for a rescue and then for a breeder.
We looked
at rescue societies and attended Adoption Events at Petsmart and Petco. I searched the local ASPCA and Pima County
Shelter websites and Petfinder and filled out applications and asked for alerts. Through these efforts we found it was rare to
find a rescue poodle that was purely poodle. I was worried that whatever other dog line the
poodle was mixed with would turn out to be an allergic trigger to me.
We went
to see a local breeder’s dogs but were turned off by the condition of the house
and yard and the number of dogs they had.
They were nice people, but it didn’t feel right.
We
discovered the Havanese breed and decided this was the best dog type for
us. They are sturdy with strong legs and
don’t have some of the delicacy issues small poodles do. Poodles have a tendency to hurt their legs
and backs when they jump up and down from things like beds and chairs.
Like
poodles, Havanese are intelligent, learn quickly and are loyal to their human
pack. I’d noticed that my niece’s poodle
occasionally shed little tufts of its fur-hair and I wasn’t keen on that. I’d gotten all the cat hair out of every nook
and cranny of my house, and didn’t want to have to worry about wearing black
pants coated with bits of fur for the next 15 or so years.
We learned
Havanese are non-shedding and have hair similar to poodles but different in
that it grows longer, is silky, straighter and easier to manage. I could not find any rescue Havanese in the
State of Arizona. I did apply to the
rescue society, but had so many problems with transmitting their application
and the follow-up, I gave up.
We found
a local Havanese breeder. During the
visit, we were pushed to commit to one of the eight or so puppies in the puppy
pen – the result of two litters I believe.
We met the “parents” and assorted doggie relatives. They all had that friendly Havanese
personality. But these little dogs were
definitely shedding, a lot. We told them
we’d think about it, but realized the next day that something was off for
us. I don’t know if it was the high
pressure tactics of the owners, the shedding adults, the condition of the pen
where the babies were or the lack of verifiable papers…but we decided to keep
looking.
We found
another breeder and did an application and made a visit. The dogs were cute although the owner was a
little overbearing. She was nice enough,
but seemed to need to lecture. At this
point I was trying desperately to make a good impression and wasn’t my usual
self. I tried to sound really
intelligent and not as goofy as I really am.
We were selected to get one of her new puppies.
The
breeder lady came with the doggie mom to visit and said everything was
fine. Inexplicably, she started reneging
on our verbal contract and became stiff – seemingly annoyed – when we asked for
a written contract a couple of weeks later.
I’d read you should have one. My
heart was broken because we didn’t get one of her puppies. She couldn’t decide if she wanted to keep one
or two females from the litter and preferred to sell us a male. Back then, I had my heart set on a female, but
that was changing and I was flexible. Sometimes
things work out for a reason, or don’t work out and I’m grateful we didn’t get
one of her dogs now.
The
search continued. I read voraciously
about the breed, how to choose the right puppy and how to choose a
breeder. Out of the blue, soon after we
considered visiting a breeder in California who had a litter due in several
weeks, we came across a picture on another breeder’s website of a puppy that
was available.
I took
one look at him and fell in love. When I
showed my husband later that night, he was just as enamored. We filled out yet another application and
talked with the breeder, making an appointment to meet this little white dog at
her home the following weekend.
We found
out that he was one of four puppies. Two
males had already left with their new “parents” when they were 10 weeks old and
she was keeping the lone female. Two
separate families had committed to Finnegan, but then one had a medical
situation and the other landed up needing to commit money to extensive home
repairs. So, he was still there, waiting
for his forever home, He was turning 12 weeks but had nowhere to go. Ping went the heartstrings.
I’ll let
you know what it was like finally meeting him May 5th, 2012.