{"id":253,"date":"2018-05-13T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2018-05-13T15:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stephaneian.com\/?post_type=our-story&p=253"},"modified":"2023-05-31T01:32:03","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T01:32:03","slug":"rita","status":"publish","type":"our-story","link":"https:\/\/stephaneian.com\/fr\/our-story\/rita\/","title":{"rendered":"Rita"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Durant mon enfance, il y avait toujours eu des chiens, mais je n\u2019en avais pas adopt\u00e9 un depuis mon d\u00e9part de chez mes parents.<\/p>\n

J\u2019en voulais vraiment un, mais mon horaire de travail posait probl\u00e8me. Comment est-ce que je pourrais m\u2019occuper d\u2019un chien avec mes heures au boulot?<\/p>\n

Il faut dire que les choses avaient chang\u00e9 sur le plan carri\u00e8re. Tout \u00e9tait plus stable. L\u2019horaire \u00e9tait plus routinier. Mon emploi \u00e9tait plus solide. Et je partageais mon logement avec un coloc qui pourrait m\u2019aider en cas de journ\u00e9es difficiles \u00e0 g\u00e9rer.<\/p>\n

J\u2019\u00e9tais aussi tr\u00e8s solitaire. \u00c7a marchait bien avec St\u00e9phane .On \u00e9tait des amis proches. Apr\u00e8s quatre ans, j\u2019esp\u00e9rais encore que quelque chose de plus se mat\u00e9rialise, mais je ne pourrais pas attendre ind\u00e9finiment.<\/p>\n

Je ne voulais pas chercher un autre gars. \u00c7a ne m\u2019int\u00e9ressait pas. Ce que j\u2019avais avec St\u00e9phane me suffisait. Mais il me fallait un vrai compagnon de tous les jours. C\u2019\u00e9tait le temps d\u2019adopter un chien.<\/p>\n

Je me suis mis \u00e0 passer \u00e0 travers les annonces en ligne. Je ne voulais pas un chien de race, mais plut\u00f4t un animal auquel je pourrais me lier et faire un avec lui. Les sites internet de refuges et d\u2019h\u00e9bergement pour chiens abandonn\u00e9s sont vite devenus les plus populaires sur mon ordinateur.<\/p>\n

Un bon jour, alors que j\u2019\u00e9tais \u00e9tendu sur la pelouse au parc Allan Gardens et que je regardais les chiens du quartier qui se promenaient ou jouaient, j\u2019ai trouv\u00e9 une annonce pour Rita. Elle \u00e9tait un chien de rue du Costa Rica, un cl\u00e9bard comme tant d\u2019autres, comme les 57 soupes Heinz. C\u2019est l\u2019organisme Save our Scruff qui l\u2019avait emmen\u00e9e au Canada. Ce chien-l\u00e0 m\u2019interpellait.<\/p>\n

Je savais que je venais de trouver mon chien \u00e0 moi. C\u2019\u00e9tait elle. Son profil, c\u2019\u00e9tait moi de A \u00e0 Z. On serait des \u00e2mes s\u0153urs tous les deux.<\/p>\n

J\u2019ai donc commenc\u00e9 le processus d\u2019adoption.<\/p>\n

Tout le monde \u00e9tait embarqu\u00e9. St\u00e9phane m\u2019avait \u00e9crit une belle lettre de r\u00e9f\u00e9rence pour m\u2019aider \u00e0 obtenir son adoption.<\/p>\n

Et puis un faux d\u00e9part au moment d\u2019arriver \u00e0 la maison \u2026 quand elle s\u2019est enfuie avant m\u00eame d\u2019entrer chez moi. J\u2019\u00e9tais catastroph\u00e9. Heureusement, les agents du Toronto Animal Services ont pu la retrouver saine et sauve.<\/p>\n

L\u2019organisme de sauvetage l\u2019a reprise, mais ils \u00e9taient toujours pr\u00eats \u00e0 me laisser l\u2019adopter. Elle est arriv\u00e9e chez moi pour vrai deux ou trois jours plus tard.<\/p>\n

C\u2019est une chienne tr\u00e8s anxieuse. Elle n\u2019est pas tr\u00e8s bonne avec les gens. Et elle ne partage pas bien son espace. Mais, une fois familiaris\u00e9e, elle peut t\u2019aimer \u00e0 mort.<\/p>\n

Cette adoption a \u00e9t\u00e9 un assez long processus pour St\u00e9phane. Il aimait les chiens. Ou au moins l\u2019id\u00e9e d\u2019avoir un chien. Mais il avait eu de mauvaises exp\u00e9riences avec eux quand il \u00e9tait enfant, ce qui lui avait marqu\u00e9.<\/p>\n

Quand il a rencontr\u00e9 Rita pour la premi\u00e8re fois, quelques jours plus tard, \u2026 elle s\u2019est mise \u00e0 grogner et grincer des dents, ce qui n\u2019\u00e9tait pas accueillant du tout. \u00c7a n\u2019aidait pas du tout.<\/p>\n

Mais ce chien-l\u00e0 \u00e9tait diff\u00e9rent. C\u2019\u00e9tait mon chien. St\u00e9phane n\u2019a pas laiss\u00e9 cette premi\u00e8re rencontre l\u2019arr\u00eater dans ses efforts pour \u00e9tablir une relation. M\u00eame si les grognements et les grincements de dents n\u2019\u00e9taient pas rassurants, il n\u2019allait pas arr\u00eater d\u2019essayer.<\/p>\n

Avec le temps, il est arriv\u00e9 \u00e0 mieux comprendre Rita. Et elle \u00e9galement a fait des pas vers lui. Et ils sont tomb\u00e9s en amour l\u2019un avec l\u2019autre, ce qui a chang\u00e9 pour toujours la relation entre St\u00e9phane et les chiens \u2026<\/p>\n

et les liens entre nous deux.<\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I grew up with dogs, but hadn\u2019t had one since moving out on my own. But I wanted one. Badly. My work schedule was the issue. How could I care for a dog with the hours I had at work. But things had changed career wise. Things had settled. Schedule was more routine. Work in […]<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":350,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","ptb_metabox":{"ptb_our_story_written_by":"Ian","ptb_our_story_cover_image":["351","https:\/\/stephaneian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/8_Rita_C.jpg"]},"ptb_taxonomy":[],"ptb_featured_image":{"url":"https:\/\/stephaneian.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/8_Rita_BW.jpg","title":"8_Rita_BW","caption":""},"builder_content":"

I grew up with dogs, but hadn\u2019t had one since moving out on my own.<\/p>

But I wanted one. Badly. My work schedule was the issue. How could I care for a dog with the hours I had at work.<\/p>

But things had changed career wise. Things had settled. Schedule was more routine. Work in general was more reliable. And I had a roommate that could back me up a bit on the odd crazy day.<\/p>

I was also feeling very lonely. Things with St\u00e9phane were great and all. We were really close friends. After 4 years, I still had hope that something more would materialize, but wasn\u2019t going to wait around any longer either.<\/p>

Didn\u2019t want to look for another guy. That wasn\u2019t of interest. What I had with St\u00e9phane was enough. But it was time for a real companion. It was time to get a dog.<\/p>

I started digging through listings online. I didn\u2019t want a breeder dog, I wanted a rescue to bond with and become whole with. So the shelters and rescue sites became the most frequently visited websites in my browser history.<\/p>

Until one day, laying on the grass at Allan Gardens, watching all the other neighbourhood dogs on their walks and playing, I found the listing for Rita. A Costa Rican street dog, \u00a0a total mutt. Heinz 57 breed. Brought to Canada by Save Our Scruff, a local rescue. She spoke to me.<\/p>

I knew I\u2019d found my dog. This was the one. Everything in her profile was just me to a T. I knew we\u2019d be soulmates.<\/p>

So the process began to adopt her.<\/p>

Everyone was on board. St\u00e9phane wrote a really good reference letter to help me secure her.<\/p>

And then a false start bringing her home\u2026 when she ran away before even getting inside.\u00a0\u00a0I was devastated. But thankfully she was found unharmed by Toronto Animal Services.<\/p>

The rescue got her back and was still willing to let me have her. She came home for real a couple days later.<\/p>

She\u2019s a very anxious dog. Not great with people. And not great sharing her space. But once she warms up to you, she loves you to bits.<\/p>

It was a process for St\u00e9phane. He loved dogs. Or at least the idea of dogs. But had bad experiences with them as a child that had scared him.<\/p>

So when he came to meet Rita for the first time a few days later\u2026 she growled, snapped her teeth, and wasn\u2019t very welcoming\u2026 it didn\u2019t help.<\/p>

But this dog was different. This dog was my dog. St\u00e9phane wasn\u2019t going to let that stop them from forming a relationship too. As scary as the teeth and growls may have been, he was going to keep trying.<\/p>

Over time, his understanding of her grew. Her understanding of him grew. And they too fell in love with each other. Forever changing St\u00e9phane\u2019s relationship with dogs.<\/p>

But also\u2026 changing his relationship with me.<\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephaneian.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/our-story\/253"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephaneian.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/our-story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephaneian.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/our-story"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stephaneian.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stephaneian.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}