Double the Love

After we lost Champ, especially so suddenly after we adopted him, we knew we wanted to continue our senior dog journey (at least I knew it right away 😊). The day after losing Champ, we received so many heartfelt messages from friends and family. I cried reading every single one. There was one particular post that really tugged at my heart. It was from our friend Amy and she shared a post about two bonded senior dogs that were looking for a home. I told myself to not click on it in the event we wouldn't be able to adopt them and I wasn't ready to feel that pain while grieving for Champ. But what did I do?! I clicked on it!

The post was about two bonded senior dogs named Bosley and Diesel. Bosley was a 10 year old boxer/pit mix and Diesel was a 12 year old yellow lab. They had been looking for a home for over three months and I didn't think they would still be available for adoption since the post I saw was over three months old. I contacted the rescue, PAWS-itive Partners located in North Platte, NE, and chatted with one of the kindest women I know named Barb. She was so excited someone was interested in meeting these senior pups!

A few days later, we scheduled a meet and greet in North Platte, NE which was about 4 hours (8 hours roundtrip) away from where we live. We met Barb and Josie (former volunteer at Paws-itive Partners). They both are now very dear friends of ours and have helped us so much in dog journey (another story for another time). I remember Diesel being this happy go lucky, mellow, older gentleman. He loved everything and everyone. Bosley was a sweet gal with a little more spunk. She barked at people and dogs passing by, was quicker on her paws, and was very curious about the cats that were in the house where we were at. We also had cats at home so we weren't sure if it would be a good fit based on that alone. The rest of the meet and greet went great and I knew even before we met them that I needed to be their mom.

After we left and was on our way home, I thought to myself that there was no way my husband was on the same page as me. Compared to our first dog Champ, these two dogs required much more and there were TWO of them! Were we ready to have two dogs plus four cats? I don't think anyone is ready for anything in life, but you sometimes just do what you feel is right and you figure it out along the way (same as baby humans, right?). To my surprise, my husband was on the same page as me and said he wanted to bring them home too. I'm pretty sure he didn't feel like he had a choice but he made the right choice nonetheless.

Fast forward to another week later (two weeks after we lost Champ), we brought home Diesel & Bosley! We were still very new dog parents and didn't have any experience with having two dogs, and dogs that were more active than Champ. For the next few weeks, we had several challenges including explosive diarrhea, peeing accidents, ear infections, figuring out sleeping routines & arrangements, dog anxiety, etc. I wish I knew then what I know now which is that every dog needs a few weeks minimum to adjust to their new home, surroundings, and humans. We just thought everything would be great for them but they both took time to adjust and both required different things to make them feel more safe and comfortable. All the pee and poop accidents were from Bosley having health conditions that just needed some medication to manage. After a few weeks, they both settled in great and we figured out what worked best for them to make sure they felt safe, comfortable, and loved.

Isn't it weird and crazy how one single moment can change your entire life? That's exactly what that Facebook message did for me the day when I clicked on Bosley & Diesel's picture.

Love,

Susie Cogswell, Cogs Dogs Mom

#adoptdontshop #cogsdogs #seniordogs #seniordogjourney #adoptaseniordog #cleartheshelters #rescuedismyfavoritebreed #dogs #dog #bondedseniordogs #dogmomaf #dogrescue #doglover