New furred family member (long)

sam wrote:
2007 just wasn't been our year for pets. First we lost Smokey (solid
black DSH) to cancer. Then a month later we lost Scooter (long hair
Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix). We were down to just Mistletoe. Precious
though she is, we were short on the "patter of little feet". We had
discussed getting another pet several times and had pretty much agreed
that the next one would be a dog. We both love cats, but decided that
we wanted a pet that *might* come on command at least every once in a
while. And we agreed that we wanted a smaller short hair (short-hair
was a key criterion - this is important later) dog, preferably a
dachshund or doxie mix. And we knew that we wanted to adopt a rescue or
shelter dog (they really need it), and a mature adult (easier for us to
keep up with).

We looked online but were disappointed in that most of what we saw was
either large dogs, dogs that were too far away from us to be practical,
or breeders.

And so one Saturday, we set off in search of the next member of our
household. On the third shelter in the area, we found one that actually
had a few (make that one) small dogs that looked to be in decent shape.
One of the staffers there directed us to where the small dogs would be
(if they had any). While we were walking to the cages she had
indicated, one of the staffers came back with what appeared to be an
almost full-blooded honey-colored Pomeranian (go to www.wikipedia.com
and search for Pomeranian for several pictures)on a leash and put him
back in one of the cages. We looked at his card which said his name is
Taylor and he was a 7-year old found stray.
snip
It's obvious to me that this animal was in a loving home before. He's
too well trained not to have been. However, that said, the shelter said
that when he was found he had no collar/harness or microchip so there
was no way to reunite him with his previous family. I hate that he was
separated from his original family, but grateful that we were fortunate
enough to have found him.


These doggies are really cute! I'm glad you found him.
Best wishes,
Polonca and Soncek

sam wrote:
2007 just wasn't been our year for pets. First we lost Smokey (solid
black DSH) to cancer. Then a month later we lost Scooter (long hair
Chihuahua-Pomeranian mix). We were down to just Mistletoe. Precious
though she is, we were short on the "patter of little feet". We had
discussed getting another pet several times and had pretty much agreed
that the next one would be a dog. We both love cats, but decided that
we wanted a pet that *might* come on command at least every once in a
while. And we agreed that we wanted a smaller short hair (short-hair
was a key criterion - this is important later) dog, preferably a
dachshund or doxie mix. And we knew that we wanted to adopt a rescue or
shelter dog (they really need it), and a mature adult (easier for us to
keep up with).

We looked online but were disappointed in that most of what we saw was
either large dogs, dogs that were too far away from us to be practical,
or breeders.

And so one Saturday, we set off in search of the next member of our
household. On the third shelter in the area, we found one that actually
had a few (make that one) small dogs that looked to be in decent shape.
One of the staffers there directed us to where the small dogs would be
(if they had any). While we were walking to the cages she had
indicated, one of the staffers came back with what appeared to be an
almost full-blooded honey-colored Pomeranian (go to www.wikipedia.com
and search for Pomeranian for several pictures)on a leash and put him
back in one of the cages. We looked at his card which said his name is
Taylor and he was a 7-year old found stray.

We figured that he had found his people and was just put back in the
cage while they were settling up with the shelter. We went back to the
office and asked and were told that the people who had done a "get
acquainted meeting" with him had decided they wanted a younger dog. So
we filled out the paperwork (each shelter has their own) and talked with
the "adoption approver" Cindy. Cindy said that since he was a found
stray, they didn't really know a lot about him, but he had passed all
the personality tests with flying colors (good with people, other dogs,
cats). She told us that the intake vet noted a subluxated patella but
that it wasn't a problem at that time. We obviously put down the right
answers on our form because Cindy signed us off for a meet-and-greet. A
volunteer directed us to one of the get acquainted runs and went to get
Taylor.

When he came into the run, he seemed happy to see us both and came to us
for pettins, seeming to enjoy whatever we did. DW sat down in a chair
and he jumped up in her lap. She petted on him a while then put him
down on the floor. I called him and he didn't respond to his name, but
looked over at me. When I bent down, he came over for petting, flopped
down and showed his belly for petting (of course I obliged). He seemed
quite comfortable with both of us and definitely "put on his cute face"
for us. DW and I looked at one another and decided it was a match (long
hair be darned!). We took him back into the office and waited to finish
the arrangements. He didn't respond to "Taylor", but seemed to alert on
"Rex" so he is now called Rex.

While we were waiting, they took him to be chipped. The shelter was
very busy so it took a while for them to get to us. When he was
chipped, they brought him back out and we waited a bit more. Finally
the shelter supervisor took pity on us and went processed us out
herself. Off we went for home.

Now for the introduction to Mistletoe. First we closed her up in our
bedroom. Then we brought Rex into the living room on his leash and let
him sniff around. He found Missy's scent immediately and wanted to say
hello to her. We could tell that even though she was safe behind a
closed door, she was not amused with the intruder (hiss-spit, growl, etc.).

We left the door between them until the conversation ("I wanna go see, I
wanna go see" - Rex; "Go away, stupid thing" - Missy) died down (about
20 minutes). Then, while DW still had Rex on his leash, I went in and
took Mistletoe securely in my arms and took her out of the bedroom where
they could see one another. As long as I was holding her at chest
height, she was very interested, in a less-than-positive way, but not
actively trying to attack.

After about 10 more minutes, DW still had Rex on his leash and I put
Missy down. She walked around warily while Rex was pulling on the leash
trying to go meet her. We gradually let the leash lengthen while Missy
sat with the expression "What the h*ll are you doing in MY house?" on
her face. Soon they both settled down a bit so DW picked Missy up and
sat down in her recliner with Missy in her lap. Rex initially though he
would join them, but a hiss from Missy gave him pause. He still tried
to sniff her which she did *not* appreciate. When Rex took a break for
water, Missy got down out of DW's lap. About that time, Rex came back
into the living room and saw Missy on the floor. He ran over to her,
but his advance was quickly halted by Missy's raised paw and threatening
hiss.

Over the next couple of hours, they developed a truce of sorts. Rex
still wanted to sniff; Missy didn't and told him so. At bedtime, Missy
took up her spot on our bed and was immediately joined by Rex. WTF? How
did he get up here? This is MY bed. Missy got on her "pillow of honor"
between DW and I and dared Rex to get closer than the foot of the bed.
Soon Rex decided he could be more comfortable on the couch than having
to sleep with one eye open on the bed so he retired for the evening.

They've since developed a calmer truce between them. They've even gone
so far as to gently touch noses, but when Rex tries to sniff beyond that
Missy still takes offense. So we are now two (pets) again.

Since then, we've learned:
Rex is completely housebroken except for one accident the first morning
after he arrived.
Rex isn't 7 years old - more like 3 according to our vet.
Rex *hates* rainy weather (a real shame since we live in Seattle, WA)
Rex is a momma's boy. Loves to cuddle with DW in her recliner.
Rex doesn't especially like to ride in the car, but does well with it if
he's held in Mom's lap.
Unlike many small dogs, Rex isn't "yippy". We've heard him bark 4 times
in the month we've had him.

It's obvious to me that this animal was in a loving home before. He's
too well trained not to have been. However, that said, the shelter said
that when he was found he had no collar/harness or microchip so there
was no way to reunite him with his previous family. I hate that he was
separated from his original family, but grateful that we were fortunate
enough to have found him.

Awww, Sam, I am so glad :-) Sounds like Rex is a wonderful addition to
the family. May you have many long, happy years with him.

Ginger-lyn

--
Home Pages:
http://www.moonsummer.com
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/glsummer (homepage & cats)
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....mmer/index.htm (genealogy)
http://www.movieanimals.bravehost.com/ (The Violence Against
Animals in Movies Website)