When we moved to Nashville, it seemed like we were the only people in the entire city without a dog.
I’ve always loved animals and grew up around dogs and horses but I’ve never been the person to cross the street to go pet a cute dog.
Admiring from afar always felt like more than enough to get my puppy fix.
About six months ago, Parker and I started throwing around ideas of what it would be like to live life with a dog. We never dreamed of having one while we lived in New York but the longer we lived in Nashville, the more realistic the thought began to feel.
I suppose we almost felt “left out” when we would walk the greenways or go for a hike and everyone looked so picturesque with their dogs in tow.
Flash forward to two weeks ago, we decided to put in an application to foster a dog from a local organization called Wags & Walks. Their foster program is completely cost-free and we concluded that if we are serious about bring a dog into our life, we needed a low-risk test run.
I’ve always said that dogs find us.
We think we are consciously going out of our way to find a breeder or a rescue shelter but I feel the reality is we get that ping and desire because they’re ready to find us and come home.
When we decided to foster, we assumed we’d wait a few weeks or months after being approved until we fostered our first dog.
Each week, Wags & Walks sends out an email with pictures and descriptions of the available dogs. On one not so random night, I walked into the living room and asked Parker if he wanted to take another look at the available dogs for the week.
The email had mentioned that the organization was desperate for fosters as they had an unexpected influx of 30+ dogs without homes or room in their shelter.
Upon reading this, we learned that they were even willing to waive the typical 2-week minimum commitment and agree to shorter foster periods of 5-10 days.
We were going out of town soon so we agreed we could foster for 9 days. They would supply all materials such as a crate, food, toys, potty pads, etc. and all we had to do was give our time, care, and love.
Seemed easy enough.
After looking at the available dogs together, we decided to inquire about the Denim Litter (a group of four month old mixed breed puppies with long bodies and squatty legs), and Carlton (a 9-week old fluffy German Shepard mix).
Wags & Walks replied informing us that we could foster one of the Denim Litter pups, though we wouldn’t find out which one until we arrived Monday night to pick them up outside of a storage unit in East Nashville.
Last Monday night, we arrived to the storage unit ready to meet our foster pup.
During the 30 minutes or so we waited in our car, I kept seeing this little grey puppy asleep in one of the volunteer’s arms and had a feeling she might be ours. However, we were the first to arrive and when they still hadn’t given us our puppy after 30 minutes I began to wonder if our dog just wasn’t there yet.
I noticed some of the volunteers wandering around trying to figure out who this little grey puppy was meant to go to. It seemed as if there were some crossed wires or confusion of some sort but we continued to wait patiently.
A few minutes later, a heard a light knock on the passenger window and saw the grinning face of a volunteer with the grey puppy in her arms.
I rolled the window down and she excitedly told me that this was our foster puppy, Lee, from the Denim Litter.
I opened the door and she handed me a blue, plush dog bed and little Lee on top of it.
We learned that Lee had just been spayed earlier that day so we could expect her to be a little delirious and sleepy for the next few days.
As we drove home, I kept gazing down at this puppy in my lap feeling something similar to what I imagine new parents feel when the take their baby home from the hospital for the first time…
We just get to take this thing home?
What if something happens?
Do I even know how to care for this little creature?!
We arrived home and set up her crate. For the next 2 days, she proceeded to sleep and stay tucked away in her safe little nook.
It was clear that her demeanor was sweet, curious, timid, and eager to please.
We were shocked when she slept through the night not once but every night we put her to bed.
During the day, she would hardly walk and each time we tried to take her outside she would freeze in fear of her new surroundings.
Around day three, she started to open up a little more. We were starting to get the hang of things and it was clear she was starting to feel better.
All the while, Parker and I kept exchanging glances when she would fall asleep on our laps as if to say: Are we really thinking about it? Are we supposed to keep her? Will we ever find another puppy this well-behaved and gentle? Are we really going to foster fail* on our first time fostering a dog?!
(*foster failing is a term used to explain when fosters end up adopting their dog.)
It wasn’t until our third morning with her that we both decidedly fell in love with our little grey puppy.
We took her to the fenced in dog park at our apartment and when we arrived it was just three three of us.
We let her off leash and she immediately began to play for the first time. Admittedly, it brought tears to my eyes to see her coming out of her shell and playing like a true puppy. It was clear she felt better and she felt safe. A few moments later she ran towards me and jumped in my arms and started licking me… as if to say thank you.
It was in that moment I knew I wouldn’t be able to let her go. It felt like she was letting us know that she chose us and decided that she was home.
I knew I was already too far gone when I caught myself searching for harnesses to buy her before we had even to decided to put in an adoption application.
Over the next few days, she began to open up more and more and we became inseparable. Parker and I both agreed that the name Lee didn’t quite suit her.
One night while sitting on the balcony with her, watching the sunset, we both looked at each other and simultaneously said “what about Luna?”
No sooner than we said her name, her ears perked up and she nestled her head deeper into our laps.
We spoke at great lengths deciding whether this was what we wanted, if we were ready for the responsibility, whether this was an emotional or logical decision, and so on.
I called my mom as I was driving the morning before we applied for adoption and expressed our hesitations to her, hoping to get some guidance and reassurance.
I told her that any hesitation I had was rooted in fear, and I didn’t want to make a decision to let this puppy go just because I was scared of what I didn’t know. I knew that allowing fear to hold us back from bringing this sweet little creature into our life was unfair.
The moment I said to my mom “I just need a definitive feeling to know that this is the right decision,” I looked over to change lanes and caught sight of a new apartment building in our neighborhood that had just put up leasing signs on the outside of the building.
The sign said: LUNA - LEASING NOW
I truly couldn’t believe my eyes and went silent on the phone. I asked for a sign and I got a literal sign directly in front of me at the moment I asked for it.
The cosmic alignment of that moment felt too great to ignore. The odds of every part of that moment aligning the way it did felt nearly impossible and yet, there it was.
I knew that Luna had found us and she decided for all of us that this would be her home for the rest of time.
As I sit here and type this from my couch, her little head is nestled into my side as she naps in perfect and complete safety and satisfaction…
… and I can’t imagine it any other way. She is a constant reminder that what is meant for us, will find us.
Now, I’m the one with the cute puppy that other people cross the street to come pet and I totally get it.
Dogs are little beacons of love, hope, and everything good in this world. How amazing is it to love something so much having never exchanged a single word.
Luna, we are so lucky to love you and know you! Thank you for choosing us.