Second Chances: Everyone Deserves One

Katlyn pulls up to the green and blue building not expecting how this visit will turn out. As she walks up to the front doors, she feels a wave of nervousness and anxiety. This is her third time visiting the SPCA of Wake County (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), and she has yet to find the dog of her dreams. "It was hard to return to the shelter repeatedly and knowing that I couldn't save all the animals there, was heartbreaking." But as they seem to say, third time's a charm.

As Katlyn walked in and was greeted by the Volunteers of the SPCA, she was faced with the decision of what type, what breed, and what size dog she wanted. "I had thought long and hard about what king of dog i could handle in my home. I wanted to be able to give my new dog everything that it needed", Katlyn said. She soon realized this would be a harder task than she thought it would be. 

She preceeded to look at older dogs and found on named Billy that she really liked. "He was a bower, pit bull mix and was one of the prettiest dogs i had ever seen. He was alert and was excited to see me, so we went to a private room where i was able to connect with him one on one. I had hoped that he would respo99nd to me in a positive way, but i soon realized he wasn't the dog for me. He hid in the corner and didn't want anything to do with me when we were alone." Needless to say, she wasn't able to provide a home for Billy. 

"I decided to take a look at the puppies because I would be able to bond at an earlier age," Katlyn said. "I found out that there was one litter of puppies who all had parvo, which is a viral disease that causes life threatening vomiting and diarrhea, and i knew that if possible, I wanted to adopt one of them." She looked at the puppies and knew the one she wanted. Waffles was his name. "He was a mutt, a mix of a Labrador, Collie, and German Shepard, and was running around the pen chasing a ball. All it took was 10 minutes for me to fall in love with him", Katlyn told me while Waffles is biting at her feet. Laughing, she says, "he sure has been a joy to have around and he loves eating all the pillows in the house."

Because of the success of Katlyn's first adoption, she has decided to adopt again and is in the process of rescuing a Golden Retriever who is about a year old. "If i could adopt every single dog who needs a home, I would ... but my backyard is nowhere near big enough for that," Katlyn says laughing.

People like Katlyn are setting good examples for people who are thinking about adding a pet to their family. She states, "Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on dogs, why not rescue a dog who's chances of finding a home are small; Just some food for thought."