Some crazy cliff

"Anyway, I keep picturing all these little kids playing some game in this big field of rye and all. Thousands of little kids, and nobody's around - nobody big, I mean - except me. And I'm standing on the edge of some crazy cliff. What I have to do, I have to catch everybody if they start to go over the cliff - I mean if they're running and they don't look where they're going I have to come out from somewhere and catch them. That's all I do all day. I'd just be the catcher in the rye and all. I know it's crazy, but that's the only thing I'd really like to be." ~Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye.






My dog rescue pursuit may have started out on a spur-of-the-moment click, but it's turned into a real journey.
The adoption process to rescue a terrier through this one particular (and well-organized) group is a lengthy process. It's not like adopting a baby, but it's more involved than buying a puppy. This weekend we had a home inspection, and I think I was more anxious about being judged than I realized. I was nervous leading up to the visit, and feeling like I hoped everything would go well, and hoping the kids -- whom I can only control up to a point -- would be on their best behavior.
They were, and everything went well, and the woman who visited us couldn't have been nicer. I received word that she filed her report about us, and felt even more relief that we were getting through what I believed to be a very important step in the process.
And then, this morning, I went to look at the picture of the dog I really had my heart set on, and saw the words: ADOPTION PENDNG. I unexpectedly started to cry.
I've been feeling really emotional all day, and I keep asking myself why. Why? I mean, I know everything will work out one way or another. Digging a little deeper, I have to admit that the whole experience of seeing all these dogs in need of homes has been really sad. There are a lot of stories about mistreatment and neglect, and you look at some of the pictures of the dogs arriving at the rescue, and they're all matted and sickly. Then you see pictures of them after they've had some love and care for a few weeks, and they look practically brand new. The process has touched a nerve in me and reminded me of the disparity between how things are and how they should be in so many areas.
There are so many situations in the world that are unfair -- and a little group of terriers represents just the tip of the iceberg of everything that needs fixing..all the innocents we'd like to save.