Adventures in Acquiring a New Puppy

We had been batting about the idea of getting another dog for several months, thinking, probably erroneously, that our one dog, Gracie, needed another dog to help her re-normalize to the pack. That and we just wanted another dog. Double the fun with two dogs. Of course, we weren't going to begin looking until after I completed my AMI Training and we got our lives back.

A bit about Gracie Dog. Not too long after we adopted Gracie from the Spartanburg Humane Society in Spartanburg, SC, she was bitten on the rear quarter by a large black Lab that had, with her little buddy, a ragamuffin Poddle-mix, who I call Houdini, escaped from their yard. These two dogs, once out, wander fearlessly, particularly patrolling the dog-leg turn in front of their house. James was out biking with Gracie, when the lab attacked Gracie. Since then, Gracie has become increasingly other-dog aggressive and we increasingly reluctant to have her around dogs she doesn't already know, dogs that are black, dogs that are larger, and so forth. Since last summer, Gracie has taken to growling at G's little friends, especially when they crowd around her or stare at her eye to eye. We aren't quite ready for a Dog Whisperer intervention, but we do think that another dog and obedience training for all of us will help.

I started my search for another dog, a puppy, on Petfinder.comPetfinder.com. The search criteria were: female, puppy, boxer-mix. We wanted a "dog" dog --large enough for running alongside a bike and enough energy and stamina for long bike rides (and possibly kayaking, but that's another story). The only other stipulation was no Pit Bull in the mix. I located this puppy matching those criteria in Rutherford County, North Carolina. It's just over the South Carolina border, about 45 Spartanburgm Spartanburg (now, mind you, we do NOT live in South Carolina). There was some e-mailing back and forth, I filled out the three page application, and set a date to drive up there to see this puppy. She had been turned into the Rutherford County Animal control along with two female siblings who were adopted out quickly, but this one was ill. A Community Pet Center foster volunteer took her home and nursed her back to utter rambunctious puppy health. Isn't she a cutie? From this photo, taken at 5.5 weeks, it's totally possible to say she's a "boxer-mix," right?

Last Friday, G, Gracie Dog, anSpartanburgo SpTeeWee'sg to TeeWee's house. Later in the afternoon, we drove to Forest City, NC. to meet the little cutie. I asked what "mix" they thought she had. The foster volunteer said, possibly Australian Cattle dog or Shepard because of the spots, maybe Beagle. I answered a few questions, expressed my infatuation and after an hour, left with a promise that the nice foster lady would call me by Sunday. Naturally, I spent all day Saturday compulsively checking my phone to see if I had missed any calls. Tee Wee rolled her eyes, sighed and said that I could call about the dog. G just wanted to know when we were going back to get the dog. I had to explain that it was possible that we would be going home on Sunday without the puppy.

Finally, just after dinner Saturday, I got that call that our adoption application had been approved, there were just a few stipulations such as making sure that we did positive obedience training with the whole family, kept up with the dog's shots, taught G how to handle the puppy's over enthusiastic need to chew and bite. Sure, sure, sure, no problem. Sunday morning, we drove back out to Forest City (what lovely weekend weather for July in South Carolina -- we even had the car windows open!). I signed the paperwork, flashed my driver's license, and handed over the adoption fee of just $75Gwinnett up, Gwinnett, that's how you adopt out dogs) and off we Spartanburgo Spartanburg, where it was a doggy meet-up festival.

The puppy, now named Jellybean, met Gracie Dog, Daisy, and Emma. I took this excellent side view shot of Jellybean and have come to the conclusion, that I have brought home, not a Boxer-mix, but a Beagle-mix. What other breeds account for those spots, I'll probably never know. At least the Beagle in her will allow her to keep up on our long bike rides that we take when we go camping. And she'll fit into the camper very nicely. Welcome home, Jellybean.