{"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":"
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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 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 Greg\u2019s only request was, \u201cI don\u2019t want some yappy little thing.\u201d\n 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 Those words broke me. The connection I felt with her was instant.\n \u201cGreg, we should take this one,\u201d I said, unable to hide my excitement.\n 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 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 In the shock of it all, I laughed. Then, I cried.\n But Maggie was there. She became my comfort.\n Some days, she barely ate, so I researched ways to make soft food she could manage.\n That \u201cdying\u201d dog started thriving.\n Months passed. Her fur grew back, and one day, for the first time, I heard her bark.\n 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 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 Noticing I was alone, he added, \u201cI knew that creature wouldn\u2019t last long.\u201d\n Before I could reply, my friend Mark appeared around the corner, holding Maggie\u2019s leash.\n Greg\u2019s jaw dropped. \u201cWait\u2026 that dog is still alive?\u201d\n \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 Greg didn\u2019t say another word. He turned and walked off with his new wife.\n 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 Inside was the most beautiful ring.\n Mark knelt down and smiled.\n 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":" 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 …\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}]}}\n
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