SoapZone Community Message Board

Ginger's story is a sad one; she's a beautiful, very well trained golden doodle who occasionally came to the doggie day care bff works at. Both of Ginger's elderly(ish) owners passed, within 4 days of one another (some suspect the wife, who went second, chose to go) and nobody in the remaining family wants to take Ginger in, in part because she's 12 and has kidney issues that require daily medication and a special diet. Her food costs $75/month...anyways, she's been staying at the doggie daycare, which occasionally keeps dogs overnight, for the past month and is getting sadder and sadder. Bff keeps sending me heartbreaking pictures of Ginger looking lost and alone in the back area of the daycare, and she's brought Ginger out to meet me twice: once at my workplace (which is very dog-friendly--no need for the dog to be a service dog of some kind) and once at my house. Yesterday was the home visit; bff keeps "joking" about how she might just drop Ginger off at my front door, ring the doorbell and run away.

The thing is right now, I can't afford a pet, especially one with medical needs. Ginger is sweet, and had this happened ten years ago, I would've strongly considered taking her. But I'm *just* barely paying my bills, and while I'm sure Dad would help with the cost, he doesn't want a dog. Plus it was only three years ago that I took in another elderly pet with medical issues (Leo) and I'm still not quite over the heartbreak of losing him. I'm VERY sympathetic, and I hope Ginger finds a good home...it just won't be here.

For a while, there was a possibility bff's sister and BIL would take Ginger. They're both retired, from jobs that paid VERY well, and they both liked Ginger when they met her (and she liked them). They have a couple of super senior cats--I forget when Milo and Otis' birthday is (they're brothers from the same litter) but they're either 18 or 19--and neither cat has an issue with having a dog in the house, especially one as laidback and well-behaved as Ginger. But then bff's sis said no. She *did* say she'd help with the bills if bff ultimately decides to keep Ginger...but first bff has to find out if her own out of control dog would be OK with another dog. I think Orso would be fine with Ginger, and maybe Ginger would be a calming influence on him.

(incidentally, bff has a cat, Grigio, but Grigio is used to having one or two dogs in the home and is totally secure in his place as top "dog" in the family <g>).

BTW, my aunt is a volunteer at our county dog warden's kennels and is familiar with a number of rescue groups. She knows of a group that specializes in rescuing all kinds of doodles and is amenable to taking in ones that lost their owners, so I told bff about them and even sent her a link to their website...she didn't bother contacting them. Frankly, I think she's looking for a way to either keep Ginger for herself or making sure Ginger goes to someone in her circle of family and friends so she can see Ginger on a regular basis. But again, that's not going to be me, and I'm starting to get tired of the pressure to take her in, especially since I make just as little money as bff does and wouldn't be comfortable having her sister and BIL pay for Ginger's expenses.