Soda's Story

Once upon a time there was an Australian Shepherd mix puppy named Soda.

She had a very good family who loved her very much. Soda was such a pretty dog. She was blue and white. Her eyes were blue too. (Well, one of them was half blue, half brown) The family trained her to be a very calm, obedient dog. Soda was very smart. She knew how to sit, stay, lay down, fetch and even play dead! Soda was so fun to have around.

Well, Soda's family decided to have a baby. It wasn't long before they brought home the cute little bundle to show Soda. Soda liked the baby. She was very careful not to bark or be noisy so the baby could sleep. Well, the baby started getting sick and Soda's family thought that the baby might be allergic to Soda. They went to the doctor and, sure enough, the baby had pet allergies. Soda had to go. The family was very sad to give away their beloved pet, but a baby is more important than a dog. Even if the dog was a very good dog like Soda.
The family gave Soda to an Animal Shelter and hoped that she would find another good home.

Soda was at a pet store on Saturday and the Animal Shelter was trying to find a good family to adopt her. Soon after Soda got there, the Dave and Karlee Waddoups family walked in. They got permission from their landlady to have a dog in their apartment, so they were looking for a little dog to adopt! As soon as Karlee saw Soda, she liked her very much. Dave took a little convincing, but he saw that Soda was very well behaved and started to like her too. Dave also knew that Soda made Karlee happy and he would do anything to see Karlee happy. After some serious thinking and debating, Dave and Karlee decided to adopt Soda.

Soda was so much fun to have in the Waddoups' apartment! She was a little (lot!) bigger than the dog they had in mind, but she was so well behaved that it didn't matter. It was funny when Dave and Karlee decided to watch a movie and Soda was so excited to see the movie too! She kept licking the TV and chasing the characters off of the screen. Since the Waddoups have surround sound, she thought the speakers were really strange! Soda's ears perked and her head tilted from side to side as she tried to figure them out! It was also so much fun to take Soda out to Karlee's parent's house and have her run and play with other dogs in a big yard. The Waddoups thought that it was fun taking Soda on a walk to the park too. Soda was a very good dog on a leash. She didn't even bark when other dogs barked at her!

Everything seemed fine, except Dave and Karlee had an uneasy feeling about adopting Soda. It just didn't seem quite right. Even though Soda was a perfect dog, the Waddoups weren't sure they were the perfect family for her. They were a little stressed about the choice they had made. Well, Dave thought that they should take Soda back so she could maybe go to a better family. Karlee felt guilty that they had to keep Soda locked up in a kennel all day while they were at work and wished that they had a yard where Soda could run and play. Soda also seemed to have a little bit of a gas problem and Karlee didn't like it when Soda made their living room stinky. (Karlee had a little bit of a sensitive nose.)

Dogs are expensive and the Waddoups family needed to save all the money they could to pay for school and eventually, they were going to move and they were worried about finding another apartment that would allow pets. The Waddoups family decided that they had made the wrong choice in adopting Soda and decided that it was best to take her back to the Animal Shelter where she could find an even better home. Karlee was very hesitant and didn't want to take Soda back to the Shelter, but Dave knew that Soda could find a better home with maybe a yard and some kids to play with.

After a tearful goodbye, (Karlee has a tender heart towards animals and had grown attached to Soda) Dave and Karlee took Soda back to the Shelter. Hopefully she will find a great home where she could live forever.
Dave and Karlee were blessed to know Soda and to have a great learning experience. Hopefully Soda's story has a happy ending and the Waddoups will some day be able to have a puppy again when they have a yard the puppy can play in. The Waddoups miss Soda very much, but know that they made the best decision for their family in the long run.

The End

We love you and miss you, Soda. Find a good family.