It was a warm January afternoon when my dog-obsessed crush asked if I wanted to go to the dog shelter before work. Being the strong and independent woman I am, I obviously jumped at the chance to spend time with him outside of work and our other friends. I jokingly texted back "sure", but that I would end up leaving with a dog if I did – and little did I know, those would become my infamous last words.

If you have never been to a shelter, your first time can be a little shocking. It's going to be smaller than you thought and it's going to smell. "In the Arms of an Angel" won't be playing, but even if it was, you wouldn't be able to hear it over the chaos of desperate, barking dogs. You'll walk around at first and shyly glance at all the dogs, trying not to make eye contact with their sad and pleading eyes. Someone will ask if you want to take one out, so you pick a cute one and let it drag you all over the yard until you've had enough and then they go back into their cages to await their forever home.

My experience wasn't any different. We walked around as he pointed his favorites out to me, and we laughed at some of the ridiculous names and decided which ones we wanted to walk around before we found someone to give us a leash. The first dog we took out was wild, running and pulling and barking like she'd never been out before. We quickly realized this wasn't going to be the dog for us and put her back. After that, I remember walking outside and him saying, "Oh! I have to show you Scooter" and that was the beginning of my life as a dog mom.

Scooter is/was a quiet dog. He laid quietly in his cage, didn't put up a fuss when we took him out or when we put him back in. He walked with us and let us pet him. As we walked away after putting him in his cage, something inside me just said "no". I couldn't just leave him there. I turned to my crush and asked, "What do I need to do to adopt him?", and the rest is history.

I won't lie to you, it isn't always sunshine and roses. Sometimes he poops in his kennel or chews through his SECOND leash. While climbing up and down three flights of stairs every couple of hours isn't a blast, at the end of the day, it is so worth it.

What they say about a dog's unconditional love is true. Whether it's watching you do your homework, or being snuggled up on the couch, or even going for a walk in the park, they just want to be around you. You are your dog's whole world, which is why shelter dogs are so sad to me. Dropping off a dog at the shelter is like the ultimate break up and dogs just don't understand. All they want is a nice home and someone to love.

I will never really know what we did to deserve dogs and I'll never be able to thank the people that dropped off my dog, but I will forever be grateful.

If you're looking to adopt a dog in the Huntsville area, visit the Rita B Huff animal shelter.

http://www.ritabhuff.org/

Hours- M-F 11-4 SAT-11-3 SUN-CLOSED

Phone number- (936) 295-4666