{"id":100305,"date":"2025-02-14T08:04:54","date_gmt":"2025-02-14T01:04:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/levanews.com\/?p=55270"},"modified":"2025-02-14T08:14:25","modified_gmt":"2025-02-14T01:14:25","slug":"i-adopted-the-oldest-dog-at-the-shelter-knowing-she-only-had-a-month-left-to-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/i-adopted-the-oldest-dog-at-the-shelter-knowing-she-only-had-a-month-left-to-live\/","title":{"rendered":"I adopted the oldest dog at the shelter, knowing she only had a month left to live"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"alignnone' size-full wp-image-55286 aligncenter src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/478388730_122166242426297665_5232551716546543712_n.png%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"1290\"' height='\"1613\"' title='\"\"'>\n</p><p><em><strong>The oldest, frailest dog\u2014given just a month to live\u2014somehow stole my heart the moment I saw her. Little did I know, choosing her would cost me my marriage, though in reality, it had ended long before I ever stepped foot in that shelter.\n<p>Greg and I had been together for years, but our home had grown too silent since we couldn\u2019t have children. I suggested getting a dog to fill the emptiness.\n</p><p><span style='\"font-size:'>Greg\u2019s only request was, \u201cI don\u2019t want some yappy little thing.\u201d\n<p>At the shelter, my eyes landed on Maggie. A sign above her kennel read: \u201cSenior Dog \u2013 12 Years Old \u2013 Health Issues \u2013 Hospice Adoption Only.\u201d\n</p><p>Those words broke me. The connection I felt with her was instant.\n</p><p>\u201cGreg, we should take this one,\u201d I said, unable to hide my excitement.\n</p><p>Greg, however, was far from pleased. \u201cThat dog\u2019s halfway to the grave,\u201d he scoffed, then gave me an ultimatum. \u201cIf you take her in, I\u2019m leaving.\u201d\n</p><p>I laughed, thinking he was joking. But the moment Maggie entered our home, Greg started packing. I still believed he\u2019d come to his senses\u2014until I was served with divorce papers just a few weeks later.\n</p><p><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"alignnone' size-full wp-image-55283 aligncenter src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/476635683_487835207702572_8810554261177242682_n.png%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"992\"' height='\"992\"' title='\"\"'>\n</p><p>In the shock of it all, I laughed. Then, I cried.\n</p><p><span style='\"font-size:'>But Maggie was there. She became my comfort.\n<p>Some days, she barely ate, so I researched ways to make soft food she could manage.\n</p><p>That \u201cdying\u201d dog started thriving.\n</p><p>Months passed. Her fur grew back, and one day, for the first time, I heard her bark.\n</p><p>Feeling she was ready for a walk, I took her to the park\u2014where I unexpectedly ran into Greg. He wasn\u2019t alone. A woman clung to his arm.\n</p><p>He smirked. \u201cWell, Claire, as you can see, I moved on. Our marriage was over anyway. That dog just made my exit easier.\u201d\n</p><p>Noticing I was alone, he added, \u201cI knew that creature wouldn\u2019t last long.\u201d\n</p><p>Before I could reply, my friend Mark appeared around the corner, holding Maggie\u2019s leash.\n</p><p>Greg\u2019s jaw dropped. \u201cWait\u2026 that dog is still alive?\u201d\n</p><p><img loading='\"lazy\"' decoding='\"async\"' class='\"alignnone' size-full wp-image-55284 aligncenter src="%5C%22https:%5C/%5C/echowoven.com%5C/wp-content%5C/uploads%5C/2025%5C/02%5C/479630027_1048370370662267_6566366340427939787_n.png%5C%22" alt='\"\"' width='\"1024\"' height='\"683\"' title='\"\"'>\n</p><p>\u201cYes, Greg,\u201d I said, smiling. \u201cAnd she\u2019s thriving. You walking away gave her a second chance\u2014and I\u2019ll never regret that decision.\u201d\n</p><p>Greg didn\u2019t say another word. He turned and walked off with his new wife.\n</p><p>Some time later, Mark, Maggie, and I were back at the park. As we played in the sun, I noticed something hanging from Maggie\u2019s collar\u2014a tiny box.\n</p><p>Inside was the most beautiful ring.\n</p><p>Mark knelt down and smiled.\n</p><p>Maggie had been part of my journey from heartbreak to happiness. The life I thought I was saving had, in the end, saved mine.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"</p><p>The oldest, frailest dog\u2014given just a month to live\u2014somehow stole my heart the moment I saw her. Little did I know, choosing her would cost me my marriage, though in reality, it had ended long before I ever stepped foot in that shelter. Greg and I had been together for years, but our home had &hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":100309,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1439],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-100305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100305","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100305"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100305\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":100313,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100305\/revisions\/100313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/100309"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/echowoven.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}</p></span></p></span></p></strong></em></p>