Random Adoptions

I have several friends who have gone to China to adopt babies. I think that's wonderful. It's a long process, but it should be. Kids are a long term commitment and they're people. Real human beings who need love and care. Filling out a bunch of paperwork and having a criminal background check seems reasonable.

Dogs, contrary to what many think, are not people. However while trying to adopt one recently, it sure seemed like getting a top secret security clearance would be easier. Humane societies and rescue groups now require applications where you have to tell them what happened to dogs you've had in the past. "Under what circumstances would you return a dog to the agency?" was one question. Some won't let you have one of their dogs unless you have a fenced yard. Most require a reference from a vet. One wanted to visit our house first.

While I'm not opposed to these questions, it occasionally seemed excessive. And, since we are simple people, we just went to the pound. Look who we found:

This is Dooley: The guys at the pound were very nice and helpful, but they didn't ask a bunch of questions and no one seemed interested in visiting our house. Within twenty minutes we'd written a check and left as pet owners. That seems reasonable.

There was another adoption this week that could possibly be cause for concern, though for whom is not yet clear. Our church has several "gifts that give" for Christmas which are based on helping others locally, nationally and globally. One of the possibilities was adopting a senior citizen, usually a church member who is not always able to attend services. Lynne and I decided to adopt one together. We continue to maintain our stance that we are not a couple. All we had to do was put our names on a piece of paper and they gave us the name and address of some poor, unsuspecting woman in Lima.

I have a feeling that 2011 will bring more stories about Dooley and the nice woman in Lima and attempts by Lynne and me to be useful to her.

Stay tuned.