Okay, after all the news about the Washington Bridge and stories of three-hour long traffic jams, you’re going to think we’re crazy to have purposely driven to East Providence on Sunday.

Even if the DOT squeezed out two lanes from Eastbound I-195 for westbound traffic, there was no telling what level of confusion we might encounter. Why even attempt it?

I’ll put the blame on Karen Kalunian who I’ve known for years and whose Animal Talk column appears weekly in the Beacon as well as other newspapers. Her videos and photos of animals for adoption can be found on our website as well. Karen and her daughter, Kim and Tammy Flanagan of the East Greenwich Animal Protection League introduced us more than ten years ago to Ollie, the spotted coon hound whose escapades were frequently featured in this space. We miss Ollie as I know many of our readers do. We put him down on July 4 at the age of 16 or 17 from a bleeding tumor that left him pathetically confused and surely in pain. At first we thought it would be years before adopting again, if at all. In a way adopting another dog felt like a betrayal.

Former State Senator Tom Lynch put another perspective on the situation. When I mentioned this to him, he reached into his pocket to retrieve a laminated card of his dog with a message that the best way to remember and pay tribute to a departed canine is to save the life of another.

As we warmed to adopting, Karen Kalunian has been wonderful. She’s notified us of adoption events and periodically sends along photos and descriptions of dogs she believes would be a suitable fit. Last week she texted me a photo of “Scout,” a mini-Aussie shepherd she thought would be of interest. Somehow Scout just didn’t click, but Karen told me of an adoption event Sunday at Rumford Pet Center being hosted by Friends of Homeless Animals.

“But that’s in East Providence,” I said as if it was half way across the globe.

“I drive it every day,” she said.

“Even this week?”

“Well, yes.”

What on Earth would compel Karen to go through the self-torture of the past week? And then she reminded me her daughter and son-in-law live there and she was visiting her grandchild. Grandchildren outrank dogs when it comes to going to lengths even if it means detouring to the Henderson Bridge to cross the river.

That was it, we were going regardless of the traffic.

The scene at Rumford Pet Center was friendly with an abundance of puppies, most of which had been delivered by trailer on Saturday from Mississippi. The dogs were on leashes held by their foster families, other than a child’s playpen filled with puppies and overlooked by Regina. She was fostering the batch of squirming adorables that begged for your attention. One of them was older than the rest, and while friendly, didn’t fall over you. Low slung, Ripley is clearly part dachshund and something else. Regina cuddled him like a baby, which he loved.

Regina handed him over to Carol and gave her a leash. He checked me out and the rest of the gathering. You know, dogs like to sniff. He met Farrah, a corgi mix. She was lively, younger and looked like she would grow some more. We liked them both.

“Let’s foster Ripley for a couple of weeks and see if it works,” I suggested. Carol was good with that. We were excited.

Could we take Ripley home with us? After all you never know about Rhode Island bridges.

Regina said that was possible, but we’d need to fill out an application and be cleared. How difficult can that be? I was prepared to fill out an application right there, but no. Regina forwarded me a link.

When we got home, I went online.

Believe it or not, it took me longer to complete an application than it did to drive from East Providence to Warwick even with the westbound lanes of the Washington Bridge closed.