Apr 19, 20233 min read

1 Year Later

Updated: Apr 20, 2023

It’s been (almost) a full year since I adopted Dolly.

And boy, has she brought so much joy into my life.

I adopted Dolly by accident. I wasn’t intentionally looking for a dog.

I went to a shelter one day with my mom to look at a dog she was thinking about fostering. Next to the dog my mom took me to see was the sweetest little, old chihuahua mix. She was 15 years old, but didn’t look a day over 12. I also noticed her tongue was hanging out because she had no teeth and her lower jaw had deteriorated from lack of dental care from previous owners.

She didn’t have a name at the time, but I told my mom if I adopted her, I would name her Dolly.

My mom also proceeded to say, “that little dog is perfect for you.”

I asked the shelter about her and they said she wasn’t available for adoption yet.

My mom ended up not fostering the dog she took me to see, but she kept going to check to see Dolly was ready to be adopted.

After several weeks of calling the shelter to see when she could be adopted, she was finally ready, but there was one thing stopping me. Dolly needed to have the last of her teeth pulled out and it was going to be an expensive procedure. If I adopted her before the procedure, I would have to pay for it, but if I waited, I ran the risk of someone else adopting her.

I was torn on what to do. I didn’t want someone else to adopt her.

I ended up adopting her the day after her procedure.

Dolly and I were meant to be!

Knowing her age, I knew that my only goal was to help her live a happy and healthy rest of her life. I made that my priority.

When I first brought her home, Dolly was scared of everything.

And I mean everything.

She didn’t understand the concept of the leash.

Hallways even scared her.

But I quickly found out there are two things she loves….

Food and blankets!

Even with no teeth, she doesn’t let it stop her from being excited about food.

She also loves to hide under blankets.

Fast forward to today, Dolly isn’t as scared as she used to be. It took a long time to build up her trust, but now she follows me around, naps under blankets in the living room, walks through the scary hallway, and she even goes on walks. She’s living her best life.

Adopting Dolly has taught me a lot. For one, you can teach an old dog new tricks, but you can’t teach an unloved dog new tricks. Training Dolly took a lot of patience. I first had to earn her trust that I would take care of her and not hurt her. I had to prove to her that I was here to take care of her and love her. Once she started to trust me, I was able to train her.

Dolly is constantly reminding me to appreciate the simple things in life. For her, that might include napping in the sun or smelling new dog urine on a walk, but for me it’s sitting on the sofa cuddling with her, going in the backyard on sunny days, and going for an afternoon walk on a nice day.

She also reminds me to take breaks during the work day. Dolly tries to distract me from work by running around the living room and wants me to chase her. Those quick 5 minutes before she prepares for another nap are great. It reminds me to be playful, something adults tend to forget about.