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Sep. 11th, 2007 05:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogOn the puppy.
No; the other puppy.
Andrea and I went out to visit him on Wednesday of last week. He was indescribably cute. He was black, and pouncy and nibbly and loved people. He had his own little stuffed monkey that he liked to play fetch with. When we met him, he was rolling around in his caretaker's garden and chewing on the stalks of her onion plants (yes, he smelled strongly of onions). I could tell just by his interaction with the people around him that he was a very smart dog, and one who was eager to please his people; he'd be very trainable. Since he was half Border Collie, that's not too surprising. When I tired him out playing fetch and he flopped on the ground and I petted his tummy, he made those earnest little grunts of puppy happiness that never cease to completely capture my heart every time I hear them.
We decided not to take him.
Andrea and I had a while to talk about it after that meeting. We'd decided at the time that we were going to bring Kuma over on Monday to meet him and that, if the two of them got along, we'd go for it. His caretaker said we'd passed her screening process with flying colors and that she'd be wiling to wait 'till we got back from our trip for him to come live with us. As Andrea and I talked more though, we did a lot of thinking. Thinking, and looking at the Akita and German Shepherd Dog rescue sites on line. After a lot of thought and discussion, the two of us came to the conclusion that, while Shadow was a wonderful, adorable puppy, we really want a dog who's just going to be bigger.
I have a visceral reaction of joy being around and playing with a big dog. What I really want is a canine companion who's at least eighty to ninety pounds, and possibly more. I want a moose; a horse; a yak. That's my kind of dog.
I was going to let Shadow's caretaker know of our decision on Monday when we got back. I felt really bad about telling her that we didn't want to take Shadow. How could anybody not want a beautiful little puppy like that? but Andrea and I both knew, having talked to said caretaker for an hour or so that Wednesday, that she wouldn't let just anybody take the puppy; she was going to make sure that he went to a deserving and loving home. We also knew that, being the captivating little bundle of fur that he was, Shadow would have no trouble finding a home.
And he didn't. We got a call on Friday evening from his caretaker. Shadow had been given a home by a couple looking for a companion dog for their Jack Russel Terrier. I sent her back a thank you email at work today, expressing my appreciation for her investing her time and energy into taking care of the little black puppy. The world needs more people like her.
For our part, Andrea and I are seriously thinking about getting another dog in the near future. We might attend a few of the meet and greets that the local rescue groups do and see where things go from there.
No; the other puppy.
Andrea and I went out to visit him on Wednesday of last week. He was indescribably cute. He was black, and pouncy and nibbly and loved people. He had his own little stuffed monkey that he liked to play fetch with. When we met him, he was rolling around in his caretaker's garden and chewing on the stalks of her onion plants (yes, he smelled strongly of onions). I could tell just by his interaction with the people around him that he was a very smart dog, and one who was eager to please his people; he'd be very trainable. Since he was half Border Collie, that's not too surprising. When I tired him out playing fetch and he flopped on the ground and I petted his tummy, he made those earnest little grunts of puppy happiness that never cease to completely capture my heart every time I hear them.
We decided not to take him.
Andrea and I had a while to talk about it after that meeting. We'd decided at the time that we were going to bring Kuma over on Monday to meet him and that, if the two of them got along, we'd go for it. His caretaker said we'd passed her screening process with flying colors and that she'd be wiling to wait 'till we got back from our trip for him to come live with us. As Andrea and I talked more though, we did a lot of thinking. Thinking, and looking at the Akita and German Shepherd Dog rescue sites on line. After a lot of thought and discussion, the two of us came to the conclusion that, while Shadow was a wonderful, adorable puppy, we really want a dog who's just going to be bigger.
I have a visceral reaction of joy being around and playing with a big dog. What I really want is a canine companion who's at least eighty to ninety pounds, and possibly more. I want a moose; a horse; a yak. That's my kind of dog.
I was going to let Shadow's caretaker know of our decision on Monday when we got back. I felt really bad about telling her that we didn't want to take Shadow. How could anybody not want a beautiful little puppy like that? but Andrea and I both knew, having talked to said caretaker for an hour or so that Wednesday, that she wouldn't let just anybody take the puppy; she was going to make sure that he went to a deserving and loving home. We also knew that, being the captivating little bundle of fur that he was, Shadow would have no trouble finding a home.
And he didn't. We got a call on Friday evening from his caretaker. Shadow had been given a home by a couple looking for a companion dog for their Jack Russel Terrier. I sent her back a thank you email at work today, expressing my appreciation for her investing her time and energy into taking care of the little black puppy. The world needs more people like her.
For our part, Andrea and I are seriously thinking about getting another dog in the near future. We might attend a few of the meet and greets that the local rescue groups do and see where things go from there.
