Well, we sure didn’t waste much time, did we? *grins* We said we would start visiting the shelters once we got back from England (as in starting after a week or so) to see if we could find a pup to adopt, but first we needed to start gathering a few things to be prepared — general stuff like leashes, toys, bedding, etc., with the stuff that is specific to the size of the pup (both as a pup, and as it grows) to come once we adopted.
Saturday started with a nice long lay-in after traveling all day Friday (between the drive to Heathrow Airport, the flight, and the drive back into Austin from Houston, we were on the move for about 21 hours), and then a good breakfast. We had planned a lazy day in, but we realized we needed some essentials around the house, so we decided to stop at the grocery store… but first, what harm in heading to the pet shop to start gathering the puppy basics?
Stopped in, lazily wandered up and down the isles and picked out a few generic items. Gathered a few brochures on the obedience classes, played nice for a few minutes with the Shetland pony… I mean Great Dane that someone brought in with them for obedience class, and checked out. Walked out of the store, and one of the local shelters had set up shop outside with a host of dogs in gated pens… we see them all the time outside the big pet stores, typically fund raising, and if possible, finding homes for some of their pups. They were one of the rescue shelters that often takes dogs from the one “kill shelter” in town to keep them from being put down just because they weren’t adopted in a timely fashion. We, being in a particularly doggy mood, decided to stop and say hello to some of the dogs.
It seemed the usual compliment of slightly older dogs, until we got down to the end of the line — there, playing together, were two young pups. They had to be from the same litter, as they had the same brindle coat (brown with black tiger-like stripes), and similar features — they seemed to be a mix of catahoula, terrier, and a pinch of some breed of hound. One, the male, had a black nose with a white bib and feet, the other, the female had a white nose with a white bib and feet. The second we reached in to pet them, they took note and started licking our hands, happily sitting calmly to let us scratch their ears and chins. They were energetic, but not hyperactive, playful, and had a good spark of intelligence in their eyes. We asked the keeper how old they were, and she told us they were 2 months.
I turned to look at Sweets, and knew that she fell in love the instant I did. I straightened up and asked her simply “which one?”, and she smiled and told me “the girl”. I nodded, because she was the one I had picked out too. We spoke with the keeper to get more details. The pups were spayed/neutered already, were as up-to-date on their shots as they can be at this age, had been de-wormed, and were perfectly healthy — we have paperwork on every veterinary procedure performed (shots and all). They would come with a 30-day “insurance” plan, and the shelter would always be available to take any of their adopted dogs back should adopters ever decide they’d rather not keep them. We filled out the paperwork, went over a zillion details on what vet procedures were needed (booster shots, and once she’s of age, rabies/distemper/parvo shots, etc), heartworm, training etc. We paid the nicely inexpensive fee, and we had ourselves a new pup. *grins*
We put her in a shopping cart, and promptly went back into the store to get the rest of the necessities. She was well behaved, and was showered with attention from everyone we passed. We brought her home, and were bonding with her all night. She’s very mellow with bursts of puppy enthusiasm, and will roll over to have her belly pet if you so much as look at her. She’s starting to get used to the leash… a bit, anyway. Someone has taught her to sit, as she does it frequently in response to treat offers or going outside. She’s got no problems being handled or touched — I’ve played with her feet, ears, mouth, tail and she hasn’t so much as twitched. She’s a relatively quiet pup too.
She’ll grow to be a little bigger than we had originally decided we wanted our full-grown dog to be, but not much more… we estimate she’ll be in the 30-40 lb range. Her shelter name was “Rosie”, but we think she’s going to be “Esme” (after Esmeralda “Esme” Weatherwax, one of the witches in the Discworld series of books). She’s absolutely adorable, and spent a fair bit of time snuggled against me on the floor as we watched a bit of TV.
Today we cleaned up the yard and ensured it was as pup friendly as it can be so we can let her out — supervised of course — with a bit of freedom from the leash. We’ve started positive reinforcement training already, and we’ll soon be shortly attending some new-pup obedience classes. We started researching behavioral training months ago, in addition to learning what to expect, and what is expected of us.
I have been told by a source (that I shall leave unnamed) that she is cute, as all puppies and babies are cute, but that she is not beautiful, and that she will grow to be an ugly massive hound. I ask you, how can that be said of this bundle of fur.
She is adorable! I love puppy breath! She will always be welcome here.
Did you take pictures of my dog and post them here? Cause that’s what it looks like you did! She’s a cutie, but I know that because I have one that LOOKS JUST FRIGGIN’ LIKE YOURS!!!!!!
MUCH better photos of Esme than the first ones on Twitter. In action shots and standing up, she’s a lot better looking. I’m more impressed by the intelligence in her gaze. Interacting with a really beautiful dog in the family that’s as dumb as a stump (but sweet…sort of a “dumb blonde”), or having an intelligent, homely critter, is a toss-up. All depends on your idea of a good pet. Nice if you can get both traits, but nature isn’t always so accommodating. Every dog-parent loves his/her own. I’m a bit more objective about OTHER people’s kids and pets. Conditioning and socialization is the key.
Lisa, I thought your pooch had different coloration (less brown, more gray) from Esme, and less “striping”, and more “spotted” marking. Then again, I only spent one evening with her, so, I may be wrong. *grins*
Savanalady, it’ll be a while before she comes for a visit… we want to take our time and make sure she’s trained up like a proper little lady. Polite guests get invited back, and we never want anyone to regret having Esme as a guest.
Sorceress… crappy little cellphone camera pictures are the worst first impressions to go by. She is very smart… hopefully not smarter than we are. *grins* And yeah, puppies are inherently cute, but I think she’ll grow up to be a handsome adult dog, and with that coat coloration, she’ll be distinctive too. We’ve been studying for months now about training, conditioning and socialization, and the next 2 – 4 months are the most critical in a puppy’s life for that. Good thing we have a wide array of human and puppy extended family near to shower her with love and attention.
She is a lot more brown than Saydee. Keep her excerised, old son. Saydee is UBER destructive! Slinky promised to take her running every day. We have had her 4 months. Times gone running? ZERO! So she ate: the lid off the garbage can, the christmas infatbles, four sand bags we use during hurricanes, the baby’s patio furniture, a hose, about a dozen or son of the baby’s toys, Bubba’s kennel, and the newest addition… drumroll please… the goddamn mutherf**in CABLE FEED to the house. Oh yes, yes. I am gonna try to fix it myself but if Cox comes out to repair it I AM SCREWED! And she digs holes. Deep ones. Slinky found one covered by grass whilst mowing and almost broke his ankle in it. But she’s cute, for a bovine lummox. And she snuggles. I can forgive almost anything when she snuggles. Did I mention the baying? She doesn’t whine, no… a lovely baying howl rips through the neighborhood. But she’s cute. Obedience school is happening soon.