What Happens In Myrtle Beach Comes Home With You

The chaos in the hotel room was probably typical for Myrtle Beach, but it was far louder than I was comfortable with. Three dogs chased each other in circles while having an "I can bark louder" contest, and no amount of hushing would stop the insanity. The dogs were doing zoomies around the room and jumping between beds like kids at a slumber party, buoyed up with sugar and adrenaline. I always take Louie to conferences with me, but this was far more than I ever bargained for, and I only had myself to blame.

A few days before I left for the conference, I was asked to find a home for a dog who needed more time than his owners could give him. I applaud the pawrents for recognizing that it wasn't the best life for a dog, and wanting better for him. I knew I was heading to BlogPaws, a conference focusing on social  media for the pet bloggers and others in the pet industry, and would have a large base of pet owners to help find him a home. It didn't take long for someone to make a perfect connection for the Boston terrier, and I made arrangements to take him to Myrtle Beach with me, and a friend to take him on to his new home after the conference. The problem was that my roommate was the one taking him on the second leg of his journey, so I had to room with him the entire week. I really liked the dog, but he and Louie tended to have loud wrestling matches in the late evening hours, as boys of any species are prone to do.

I had the Boston at the house for a few days before we left, and Micah really started bonding with him. Sam and I realized that it was probably time to find Micah a dog that he could play with. Louie is game to fetch for quite a while, but he suffers breathing problems like most of his breed does, and I have to stop the fun after 5 minutes. We decided to look for a companion for Micah.

We have a list of criteria for this hypothetical dog, though.

*Good with kids and other dogs 

*Small enough for Micah to pick up but not so tiny as to be fragile 

*High energy for play, but able to calm for petting 

*No fluffy undercoat that tends to make allergies flare for the family (including Micah) 

*No flat-faced breeds that would also suffer breathing issues. 

I was thinking a jack russell would be a great fit for us, and as luck would have it, a JRT mix was available at the local humane society. We visited the shelter, played with him, and realized that it was exactly what we were looking for. We filled out the application and crossed fingers, toes and eyes that we'd have a new family member by the end of the week. Instead, I was told that we were denied adoption rights because Louie isn't neutered, and Jill isn't spayed. We are, clearly, the worst kind of pet owners ever. It doesn't matter in the least if we were responsible breeders for 15 years (and my vet can vouch for that), and that the potential adoptee was already neutered and would never be able to accidentally have puppies with an unspayed female in the house. We just suck as dog owners, and aren't allowed to own dogs, as far as the humane society is concerned.

That makes you feel like a large piece of flaming dog poop, let me tell you. It also does not foster warm and fuzzy feelings toward the humane society. With the judgment of all the proponents of  "adopt, don't shop" weighing heavily on my shoulders, I knew we'd end up shopping for a new pet because we are not eligible to adopt.

At the conference in South Carolina, one of the exhibitors set up there was the North Myrtle Beach Humane Society. Through a completely fortuitous turn of events, I ended up talking to the ladies behind the table, and they were just as confused as I was by the "your dogs aren't surgically altered" clause that kept me from adopting. I told them what we were looking for in a dog, that we wanted it as a companion for our son with Down syndrome, and asked if they had anything that might be a good fit.

That's how I ended up with 3 dogs in the hotel room on Saturday night, doing the meet-and-greet as they pushed the limits on hotel noise ordinances.

Guys, meet Fiona. Micah is crazy proud to have a dog of his very own, and chose the name himself. I absolutely love that we were able to adopt a dog, and that we have a mixed breed for the first time in our dog owning history. I feel that these two will be inseparable before long, and am looking forward to watching their bond develop. Our family just grew by 4 paws, and our hearts expanded to make room for them.