I got more and more anxious, but everyone was so excited for us and Eric didn’t seem at all deterred, so I kept my fears to myself.  I finally emailed to find out what was happening with our application and got an email back and an eventual phone call.  The organization made me feel like I was competing for a dog, that I had to prove I was worthy for one of this precious breed.  It honestly didn’t feel much different to me than buying from a breeder, and I was starting to worry more about the short life span of a Dane.

In the meantime, I had still been checking shelter and rescue sites.  I was obsessive about it.  There were so many dogs waiting for a home and I was tired of waiting.  I wanted to either commit to having a dog and have one, or just forget the whole idea.  I convinced my husband to visit a puppy rescue, just to look.