Her name had come to me in a dream. No really it did. I dreamt about adopting a Shih Tzu puppy, and in my dream, her name was Edie. Like Edie Sedgwick, Andy Warhol’s late muse. While searching online through local rescue groups, I had found this gorgeous Shih Tzu named Woowoo. After reading her story and watching a video of her I instantly fell in love with her gentle demeanor and beautiful gold coloring. I immediately flew into action. After almost 5 years of consistently saying ‘no dogs ever’, my boyfriend had finally given in and agreed. Next I had to convince my landlords, both of them.

I emailed my landlady Luellen with a photo of Woowoo hoping to woo her over. She wrote back saying she would have to check with my other landlord Rudy. She expressed that she was concerned about the damage the puppy might cause, because as she put it “puppies chew.”

I immediately emailed Rudy. ‘Rudy’ I begged ‘Please, please, please let me get her! I promise I won’t let her chew on anything but Cody’s bicycle shoes!” He wrote back almost immediately: “Well I don’t have a problem with it as long as she eats those smelly shoes.”

Grateful and relieved I made the next step, I emailed the rescue group and they wrote back that Woowoo would be there the very next day at Petsmart. I called my close friend Scout who agreed to go with me for support. We showed my early and waited around impatiently as they brought in the dogs one by one. After 20 or so dogs had been brought in, I noticed that there was still no sign of Woowoo. “Where’s Woowoo?” I asked one of the volunteers. He looked perplexed for a moment and then his face broke out into a smile “Woowoo? Oh yeah, we forgot about Woowoo, left her home.” My heart sank. As I went to turn away called out to me. “Do you know why we named her Woowoo? “No” I asked interested. “Because she makes this sound that sounds like Woowoo.” “Oh, ok.” I replied. I couldn’t imagine how a dog could make a sound like a choo choo train, but I was still set on adopting her.

The next day I emailed the rescue group again, asking when I could see Woowoo. They wrote back with no other information other than I would have to wait until the following Saturday at Petsmart. Frustrated I kept my spirits high and filled out all the adoption paperwork online and mailed it in just to cover all my bases. Throughout the week I messaged back and forth with the group commenting about how excited I was to finally meet Woowoo and they again assured me that she would be there, this time, at the Petsmart in Clifton Park.

The day before the next adoption clinic my excitement was almost unbearable, it was all I had talked about to whoever would listen all week. After waiting years and years, I was ready. All the pieces were finally coming together.

Even though I had been assured through email once again that WooWoo would be at the adoption clinic the next day, I thought that I should call again just in case. While dialing the number I expected to be just a personal cell phone, I was surprised when an authoritive voice answered with the rescue group’s name. “Uh Hi, yes I was just calling to see if you received my paperwork, I am interested in adopting Woowoo.” “Oh, well I don’t have access to the mailbox so I can’t tell you if your paperwork has been received, but I can tell you that Woowoo has already been adopted.”

I froze. After a series of questions the only explanation I was given was that someone must have gotten their adoption paperwork in before me. The word heartbroken couldn’t even begin to describe how I felt. With just 30 minutes still left at work I went into the bathroom and sobbed.

The next day I went to the adoption clinic anyway and I caught a glimpse of little Woowoo being wheeled toward the Petsmart in a shopping cart. The woman waiting for her was middle aged and kind. Even though my heart ached, I knew that there had to be a reason why Woowoo was not meant to go home with me. Maybe this woman needed her more. Maybe Woowoo would have a better life with her. I peered over at the other adoptable dogs, but none of them made me feel the way I had when I had first seen Woowoo. I stepped away from the crowd, there were people swarming around the rescue dogs and fighting over them like we were at a wedding dress sample sale in the City. Was this really what I had to do to adopt a rescue? Find one that I really wanted and then fight tooth and nail to get them? It just didn’t seem right, or fair.

I had decided early on that even though I adored dogs of all sizes, I really wanted a small dog under 15 pounds or so. My reasons being that we lived in an apartment with no fenced in lawn and were not able to go for long walks several times per day. A small dog I knew would still be a large responsibility, but one that my boyfriend and I could manage much more easily. The fact was, small dogs required less exercise and took up less space. I also wanted a dog that had hair and not fur because of my extensive allergies, this limited the type of dogs I could adopt to a very small pool.

So even though I had my heart set on adopting, for these reasons plus the fear of once again getting so attached to a particular pet and not knowing whether or not the rescue group would deem me the most suitable candidate or not, was too overwhelming. I also felt that since this would be my first dog, I really wanted the magical experience of watching him or her grow from just a puppy, into an adult.

The following week I scanned the local Want Ad Digest looking at puppies of all shapes and sizes when I came across a woman in Saratoga Springs who had a litter of brown and white Shih Tzu’s. I squinted at the blurry photos, the puppies looked more like small hamsters than dogs.

I waited a full week before I could corral enough courage to call. ‘I’ll just call and see if she seems normal’ I told myself. The woman who answered the phone sounded warm and caring and most importantly, normal. “When can we come look at the puppies?” I asked. “When would you like to come?” I paused before responding. “Could we come tonight?” “Sure!” she replied. I immediately sent my boyfriend Cody a text: “Can we go look at puppies tonight?” “Sure babes.” Was his reply.

In my head I told myself I was just going to go look at the puppies. But deep down I knew that looking at puppies was like looking potato chips, it wouldn’t be long before I would have at least one.

“What’s the address?” My boyfriend asked as we climbed into the car. It was freezing outside and he had forgotten his coat. I cranked up the heat and rubbed my frozen hands together. “I wrote it down somewhere, let me check” I replied as I pulled out my phone and searched through the notes.

But something far more than the cold froze me in my seat, it was the name of the street.

To be continued…