A Different Kind of Soulmate

On October 26th, 2013, something spectacular happened to me. A little shining star entered my life and has been brimming ever brighter since. This particular being is named Eloise.

"In the immortal words of One Direction... BABY YOU LIGHT UP MY WORLD LIKE NOBODY ELSE! "

You see, I had been craving for a pup to call my own for awhile. And ever since I had learned about them, I had become fixated on corgis. See Corgi Flop video here to see where my obsession began: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glii-kazad8

So as soon as I moved out from the dorms at my university, UCSD, I knew what my next step was going to be. It was Mission Find Corgi and Find One ASAP. However, this was no small task, especially in San Diego. I had decided to adopt rather than purchase for several reasons: 1.) It was much cheaper (Corgi puppies tend to go for about $600-$800 for one puppy, and that’s on the low side); 2.) I decided I wanted an older dog rather than a puppy. 

Many people questioned me about why this was, since it seems natural to think that any person looking to have a dog would want to see their pet throughout every stage of its life. Though the thought was heart-warming, I had to be my honest with myself; being the stressed-out college student that I am, there was just no way I could take care of a puppy at this time without being unfair to the poor little thing, as well as distracting myself from my school and work. It wouldn’t have been fair to the puppy, and considering I intended to pour my heart and soul into this new being in my life, I couldn’t do that to someone I already virtually loved.

"So happy I can't stand it!"

On top of that, there just seemed to be so many pros to adopting. Taking in an adoptee also often meant that they come with all the vaccines, microchipping and spaying/neutering already taken care of. But most of all, adopted dogs frequently come already house-trained. This means no potty training, none to little barking, and much happier roommates, very relevant and important in my case. 

The con in it all turned out to be a big, glaring and frustrating one. EVERYBODY LOVES A CORGI. I regularly called Humane Societies. I checked all the websites, even ones that were specifically geared towards Corgi adoptions. All of the adoptees were either too far or were adopted before I even got to see the posts about them. A member of the admin at one of the Humane Societies I called told me that Corgis are so popular that they are often adopted within ONE HOUR of an ad being posted. And so my woes continued for a good several months.

(**I will post a list of Adoption options for anyone interested in opening their home at the bottom of this post)

Then, I saw an ad on Craigslist of all places for a 5 year old female Corgi adoption.  Now I have my hesitations when it comes to Craigslist, so I was a little wary about this post, but I figured there was no harm in emailing. So I did. 

#selfie

A man named Ian responded to me within a day or two. We exchanged several emails about the basics of her training, her health and so on until Ian finally seemed ready to set up a meeting. By the time he had responded about this, however, I had gone on a small vacation with family. My heart sank but I had to tell him that I couldn’t meet right away. I knew this meant I’d lose my chance and someone would snatch her right up. 

But by some act of God, Ian replied saying that he would wait… that he had this good feeling about me, so he’d await my return. 

"Style is the only eternal thing, daaahhhling."

My head nearly blew from the excitement and gratefulness. I arranged to meet with him as soon as I got home and before I knew it, Nick and I were driving to Orange, CA to meet with the beautiful Eloise.

The first time I saw her, she was laying by a glass sliding door in Ian’s house. I saw her, with her smiling face, and how they lit up when she saw there were visitors, and I was in love. She got up as Ian opened the door and we approached, her just looking up expectantly. I bent down to reach her and her response was to immediately lay down, perfectly positioning herself for petting. She KNEW she was adorable and she flaunted it.

"Pet me. You know you want to."

However, a little pang went off in my heart the better a look I got of her. Though she was a gorgeous, smiley corgi, she was EXTREMELY OVERWEIGHT. As if reading my mind, Ian began to explain that part of the reason he was giving her up is that he simply couldn’t care for her like she needed. He got to walk her only once out of a month, and she had grown immensely due to that. It was obvious that she hadn’t been washed in a long time as well, and I nearly teared up as I pulled my hand away to see streaks of dirt on it from petting her. 

As time went on, Ian shared more and more of Eloise’s background with us until finally the real doozy slipped out. Eloise was a beautiful dog, and he did honestly seem to care for her, but he kept a certain distance from her the entire time we were there. Of course, it could have been because Nick and I couldn’t get enough of Eloise and were totally hogging petting time, but something told me different. And soon, honest Ian told us why he had gotten Eloise in the first place. Eloise was actually meant to be an engagement present… to his EX-FIANCE. 

It became clearer then why Ian simply couldn’t take care of her like I am sure he wanted to. There was an emotional tie there that must have been difficult for him to make peace with. And though none of it was Eloise’s fault, I do believe this had impacted her life greatly. The moment Nick or I would get up from petting her, as if she just NEEDED that attention, and maybe she did. My heart broke for this sad yet sweet little creature before me.

However, the wonderful news was that Ian loved us and was ready to let us adopt her. He seemed a big believer in fate and truly thought I was the one meant to be Eloise’s family now. He began to take out her papers - birth certificate, list of vaccinations, etc. - but continued speaking to us as he did. Soon, he also explained that he was, in fact, re-engaged. And again, without him having to say it outright, there was a mutual understanding that letting go of Eloise was important to him in some way, in a way that allowed him to truly start his life anew with his soon-to-be wife.

The Face that Launched A Thousand Ships.

Towards the end of our interaction, fate gave us one last surprise blow. As Ian was signing Eloise’s transfer over to me in the certificate of ownership, he expressed a gasp of disbelief. He looked up and said, “Today is October 26th.” 

We looked at him a little questioningly, not really sure what he was referring to, but he just smiled and said, “October 26th is my ex-fiance’s birthday.”

With that, a warmth filled me as I realized Ian was right. God had a plan for Eloise and I. Like every great love story, it was absolutely fated for us to be together.

**If you ever thinking about having a pet, please also consider adopting one. You will not regret it and that pet will be more grateful than you'll ever know. Here is a list of resources for adoptions:

http://www.adoptapet.com

https://www.petfinder.com

http://corgi.rescueme.org

Check your local Humane Society!

Thanks for reading! :D <3