Wait, you have HOW MANY dogs??

Woops. I did it again.

Again.

I failed my 12 step program. I was told to stay away from dogs available for adoption on the internet but what can I say?

I'm weak.

I became a Facebook "fan" of the rescue (Rescue Village) where I found Bernie in 2007. They're an amazing facility and the animals that they take in are always treated well and carefully placed in loving homes.

Unlike the pound that was housing my Millie. Remember when I went to adopt her and the warden was a jerk? "Are you sure you want THIS dog? I mean, she's NINE. That's awfully old for a dog." I know, douche, hand her over.

Rescue Village posts daily Facebook updates of happy adoptions, pet events around town and animals available for adoption. I usually take a quick glance and then tell myself, "You don't need another dog, Chrissy."

Well, then I saw this face.

And read this text:

Isn't she just beautiful? Maggie is a 10 year old senior beagle mix. What a wonderful friend she will make for that special someone who love "experientally gifted" doggies!"

I swear, I just intended to take a ride out there and SEE her. (You don't need another dog, Chrissy.) I walked in and headed to the back where the dogs are housed. There was an external adoption event going on so there weren't many dogs onsite.

A boxer....hello, buddy.....a Corgi mix.....aren't you a cutie.....a white German Shepherd....hi, beauty.

And then I saw the cage with her name on it. Only her name wasn't Maggie, it was Maddie. And she wasn't in there!

Just then, I saw her round the corner and slow as molasses, make her way down the hall. Only she never made it, she plopped down at the halfway mark, too tired to continue.

"There she is!", I yelled out, and the face of the man walking her lit up and he said, "Are you here to see Maddie?" She was in far worse shape than I had anticipated from the photo but the man was so excited that I was there that I sat down to spend some time with her, thinking, "I can't do this. She'll require way too much attention and she looks so slow and old."

The adoption counselor sat with me and told me Maddie's "story". Her owner had passed away and the owner's son left poor Maddie in an empty house alone and came to feed her every couple of days. Someone finally reported him to the authorities and Maddie was taken to a shelter where she was adopted by a single mom. Well, single mom started having serious financial problems and was forced to give Maddie up after just a short period of time.She wrote a 4 page letter about how sad she was that she had to let Maddie go and how much she loved her.

The counselor told me that Maddie has really bad arthritis and can only walk small distances before she gets fatigued. She also has some skin allergies that were being treated symptomatically which from what I could tell was never, even though her symptoms seemed pretty persistent.

Game over. Now I had to take her. She needed me!

Before we could seal the deal, I had to bring Millie and Dino back for a meet and greet and, of course, Miss Millie was a little bitchy initially. We all agreed that they would be okay together because Millie wasn't showing any aggression. I think she was just a little freaked out by how tall Maddie is.

I went back a few days later so that I could bring Maddie home without the other two in the car. As I was filling out the paperwork, the adoption counselor got all teary eyed because Maddie was being adopted which in turn made me all teary eyed. She told me how after I left on Saturday, she joined Maddie in her pen and was sitting, petting her, when a man came to the door and started laughing. She asked him why he was laughing and he said, "No one is going to adopt that dog. She's half dead." Which made me cry and validated all the more how much I wanted to give Maddie a loving home, even if it was for a short time.

I'm happy to report that in the two weeks that she's been in the family, she's starting to show her personality more and she seems completely at home. Dino follows her around like a shadow.

Even Vinny loves her. Okay, love might be a strong word for a cat but I think he thinks she's pretty cool.

She's so tall compared to him. I love when Vinny stands in front of her, looking up as she bends down to bump noses with him.

They said Maddie is a "beagle mix" but I'm not sure what she's mixed with. We were all surprised the first time we heard her bark because she has such a deep, strong bark.

And, oh, how sweet it sounds!