The Stupidest Thing I Have Ever Done

In the summer of 2010 I decided to adopt a dog. Why not, right? Dogs are the best. All you have to do is feed, love and entertain them in simple ways and they are loyal for life. Getting a puppy from a breeder or pet store was not something I considered, I always knew when I got a dog it would be a rescue. I started looking at pet rescues online and almost adopted about one million dogs. Anyhoo, finally I came across the picture above. Look at that dog. She's so regal, so noble. She would stand strongly beside me as we walked from here to the apocalypse.

The contact info said: 'Tails From Greece', which seemed weird but dog rescues have weird names. I called, this dog lived in Greece. The rescue was run by a woman in Toronto who had visited Greece many times and had witnessed how poorly dogs were treated and how badly they needed help. She co-ordinated the adoption of dogs in Greece to people in Canada and Europe. This only made this dog seem more noble to me and when I inquired and found out her back story, I was in too deep to turn back.

Areti, as she was called then, was a year and a half. She had been adopted for 5 months as a puppy but the family that adopted her left her tied up outside in a body harness, one that became increasingly tight and uncomfortable as she grew. Somehow the shelter in Greece found out about this and took her back, she had lived at the shelter for most of her life. She was apparently nice and played well with other dogs but a bit sad and would sit in her cage looking melancholy most of the time. Only a cruel monster would not adopt this dog and I am at least four degrees above cruel monster.

One thing though, flying her to Canada was a big ordeal and I would not be able to meet her until she arrived. It was all or nothing. When I told my sister I was going to do it, she said it was one of the stupidest things I've ever done. Obviously she doesn't remember the time I almost broke my finger when I fell off a tequila-soaked table and into the bushes crushing my hand, which was holding a water gun at the time, beneath me.

No matter, I picked all.