I did it! I officially adopted Phoebe. The lady from the rescue shelter was so happy. Phoebe was one of the favorites back at camp. All I had to do was fill out some basic paperwork and pay the adoption fee and then it would be a done deal. I filled out the required information and yanked my debit card from wallet. Then I turned the paper over and saw the adoption fee.

$295

moneyWow! What happened to adopt-a-puppy for $20? I told you it had been a long time since I had a puppy. It didn’t matter though. The little penny pincher (me) could have cared less! Little did I know that the adoption fee was just the beginning of the true cost of adopting a dog. There is much more to it than the adoption fee.

Phoebe had to go home with adoption crew and we would pick her up in two weeks.  It was kind of sad, but the lady from the shelter was glad. She said it would give her a chance to wean herself from the pup that was now mine.

I headed home – Oh! I was so excited! All that remained was getting the landlord to agree to let me keep her. Adopting before checking with the him was a big risk that I would not recommend. As I later learned, even the nicest landlord can be a stickler when it comes to having pets on the property. If he told me no, I would have to call the rescue agency and never see Phoebe again.