In 2011, I applied to several different rescues with the hopes of adopting my first dog. I was finally out of school, out of my parent's house, and into my first rental in the quiet little town of Essex, Connecticut. It was the first real time in my life where I could get my own dog and I convinced my boyfriend at the time that a puppy was a great idea for our early 20 somethings lives together. I didn’t have the normal prerequisites rescues often require like a fenced in yard, or big dog experience. What I did have was a passion to rescue, and a marathon training plan with an open spot for a training partner.
I applied to cute bouncy little puppies all throughout the state, a white shepherd mix, and countless others. Each time, I was met with the same answer - no fence, I was only renting, and there were better applicants ahead of me (especially for the puppies). While their reasons were completely valid, and the reason so many dogs are returned, I was frustrated and knew I would have to get a little creative if I wanted to adopt.
It was 2009 and Facebook Marketplace didn’t exist yet. Craigslist was the local web yard sale for everything from used cars to kid’s toys for sale. Craigslist is also a dangerous place for rehoming dogs as there is often little to no vetting process. It is where “free dogs” find themselves being rehoused into a dog fighting ring, or some other awful situation.
Not for Olive. It was there on Craiglist that I saw an ad for a “Lab Mix Puppy”. I can still remember the photo like it was yesterday, a little black lab puppy with long black ears, laying down resting her head on a floral print chair.
