*sigh*

[prosodic]

The adoption has hit a snag. I was afraid of this.

Yes, we were told that we could have her. All we needed to do was finish the adoption paperwork and send the required things (photos of the exterior of our house, a utility bill with our legal address). We jumped through all the hoops.

And now we're being told that Reece would be very lonely being left alone all day, even if Lance came home at lunch to let her out. And that our adoption is now dependent upon our agreeing to either enroll her in doggie daycare or find someone we trust to watch her during the day while we're at work.

I'm sorry, but Lance and I both believe that having someone with Reece every single second of every hour of everyday would leave her completely dependent on people and she wouldn't develop any independence whatsoever. She needs to learn to be okay by herself. It will benefit her in her adult life. Our plan was to crate her in the mornings and afternoons while we're at work, and to leave a radio on so that she can have the soothing sounds of human voices and music. It worked for my sister-in-law when she was raising Koda from a puppy to an adult, and Koda is a fantastic, well adjusted dog.

I forwarded this email (which I got from the woman who runs the shelter) to the woman who fosters Reece, just to get her opinion on the whole matter. We let her know that we planned to leave Reece alone for 4-5 hours everyday, and she didn't seem to think it was a problem.

We may have to give this whole thing up. I'm getting really frustrated and angry. But for now, I still think Reece is worth it.

Comments

[mysirensong.livejournal.com]

This shit makes me so angry. They want people to stop getting dogs from backyard breeders but then they make you bend over backwards to get a damn dog -- but the backyard breeders will let ANYONE *buy* a dog so OF COURSE they stay in business.

And, yes, your way makes PERFECT sense. We crated Bailey for the first year or so -- she's now perfectly independent for up to 8 or 9 hours at a time (uncrated) and she's gone a little longer when we haven't been able to get back for some odd reason. She's still a co-dependent dog in some ways -- a Labrador thing -- but she survived having working parents, even as a 5 week old puppy. It was MUCH harder on ME than it was on her!

[prosodic.livejournal.com]

Well, we still have another shot at some dogs being cared for at a juvenile detention center, so all is not lost. I just don't understand why this is more difficult than becoming a foster parent. It's almost like we're trying to adopt a child or something.