Hello, Goodbye

So in some sad news I adopted an awesome Shih Tzu on Thursday named Sophie only to find out that I am too allergic to keep her. I have had dog allergy problems in the past but I was really confident that with more medication and getting an “hypoallergenic” dog that I would be okay as I have been doing better around other people's dogs, but unfortunately it is not working out that way. Unfortunately I am really itchy around her and get rashes and/or hives if I have to be in really close proximity to her or hold her for more than a few seconds and have started to have some breathing issues too. Evidently the medicine is just not cutting it. I think that some of the cause for my elevated reaction to her is that she has some skin problems so she is constantly scratching herself thus kicking up dander and licking/chewing-on herself thus exposing me to lots of saliva. And since dander and saliva are the 2 things most people are allergic too, I think that it is not meant to be. I was forced to weigh the pros vs. cons for both me and her and I finally came to the hard conclusion that it would be better for both her and me if she got a new family. It is really sad to get rid of her as I already really love her and she is a great little dog, but it must be done. My head knows that I need to focus on my heath first and foremost but my heart is feeling heavy from bringing her back to the shelter. The only thing that is making me feel better is that it is a great shelter that is no kill and I am very confident that she will get re-adopted very quickly as she is a purebred who is well behaved and super sweet. Ultimately I know that she will have a better life with a family who can play with her and snuggle with her the way she deserves, but still I can’t help but feel sad and a bit guilty that I am letting her go. Sigh…so keep Sophie in your thoughts and hope that she gets a great new family that loves her.

UPDATE: Evidently Sophie was adopted within 5 minutes of me bringing her in, so hopefully she is now all settled into her new home and loving it.