Found a home for the dogs!

We found a home for the dogs! I'm filled with a mixture of feelings - relief, happiness, sadness...relief. We found this family through friends of friends of friends. They are wonderful! They live about 45 minutes from us. We went to meet them today. They have three sons, they live on a farm with more than 300 acres, they are wonderful.

My friend Lisa and her daughter agreed to go with us, which was a good thing because I was wound as tight as a piano string. She called it an "adventure" (Lisa's a lot more laid back than me) - and when we finally got there, I teared up right in the driveway. I hadn't even met them yet and I knew this was the place. It's a beautiful farm. They came right out to greet us. The two sons that live at home (one is in college) came out and played with the dogs. They had gifts for the kids, and for me. They were the sweetest, nicest people.

I was so nervous about so many aspects of the whole thing - handing off the dogs, dealing with Rachel's feelings, worried that the dogs would screw something up terribly. I brought their "stuff", but I was worried that the new owners would think I was presumptuous if I brought along all their paraphernalia. They were really cool about it, though, and they'd obviously given some thought to accepting the dogs before we got there because they seemed okay with unloading the dogs' food container right away. I showed them how to use the gentle leader with Palmer. Major was his adorable lovable self. I gave them the plethora of leashes and paperwork that they have accumulated over the years.

I was so sad to say goodbye to the dogs. But at the same time, I recognize that this is a big step into our new life. I cannot handle everything. I was not handling the dogs well, nor was I handling the guilt about the fact that I wasn't handling the dogs well. I explained the whole thing to Rachel today before we left the house. She said "But I'll be sad without the dogs." I said "I know, me too. But they'll be happier." She said "Okay, then can we get a cat?!" I said (laughing) "I don't think we're going to get any more pets for a long, long time. But maybe we could put a playset in the backyard now." She said "With a slide?" I said "Yep." She said "Great! Does the farm have cows?"

I know the dogs will be better off, and I know this was the right family. Both of the boys (and the parents, who I would have been happy to move in with, by the way), thanked me for the dogs at the end. I nearly broke out in tears when they thanked me so nicely. Two teenage boys with nice manners like that? Come on. This is the family I've been searching for. And the dogs will be delighted. And I don't think that the boys will be upset when the dogs let gas on them. Okay, well maybe they weren't that perfect. No one is that perfect. But they sure were nice. And that's what I was looking for - a nice, happy family. I couldn't ask for anything more.