My husband and I are graduate students and have been married for almost 3 years now. My husband grew up with dogs whereas I never had one. Whenever he would tell me stories about his dogs, I felt sad and wondered when I would have my own dog to spend time with. As we are both dog lovers, we decided that we wanted a dog before having children. Considering our current situation and financial condition, adopting a dog was definitely the best choice for now! Still – we were doubtful if getting a dog was the right thing to do as there is so much uncertainty for our careers and future, especially considering we are international students. We have been going back and forth for about 3 months and one day we finally decided that we would adopt a dog this year no matter what!
I started searching for dogs and had many virtual meets with different shelters and foster parents. This went on for several weeks and we weren’t having any luck with a match. I was growing kind of impatient, disheartened, and I almost gave up. But then one morning, I saw Appa’s picture on the Lawrence Humane Society’s website. After a virtual meet with the adoption counselors, they quickly set up a meeting for us to meet Appa in person. My husband and I both fell in love with Appa the moment we met. Within an hour, we decided to make him a part of our family and signed the adoption papers. It’s been three weeks now and Appa is doing amazing. In the initial weeks, it was a bit tough as we were all trying to adjust and adapt to one another but we are both very happy we made this decision and Appa is a wonderful part of our family!
Appa turned out to be a fast learner and a curious pup who sometimes takes his own time to process things. He loves following us around, playing with balls, chasing his tail, and sometimes he just sits and watches the squirrels. Me and my husband often discuss who Appa loves more, and I think it’s me. I feel extremely happy when my morning alarm rings and he jumps out of his bed to greet me. In the morning, I play with him, pet him, and take him for a walk before getting ready for work. On my way back home, I look forward to seeing Appa as I know he waits for me the whole time. In the evening, I enjoy taking him for another walk and playing with him more. I am so grateful to have Appa as my first pet. I know life is uncertain for us right now in many ways but one thing I am certain – having Appa in my life has brought me so much love and happiness, which I am going to cherish forever.
