New Puppy Adventures

After Tristan’s passing, Cynthia and I both decided we wanted to get another dog.  Cynthia wanted another collie and I was interested in a short-haired hound.  We thought it would be fun if we each had a dog and did some kind of activity like agility training together.

Cynthia initially went to Millknock Collies, the breeder where she got Tristan.  We saw on their web site that they had just had a litter of puppies, but unfortunately they were all spoken for, so Cynthia was put on a waiting list for the next batch.  In the meantime she considered adopting some older collies from a place called Collie Rescue, but for some strange reason they judged that we weren’t “suitable.”

As a side note, one thing I learned in this process is that animal rescues and foster homes are *very* picky about who they will give their animals to.  The animal adoption process is very similar to baby adoption in that they evaluate your life history before you’re even considered.  If you think you’re doing them a favor by taking an animal off their hands and giving it a good home, think again.  They seem more interested in keeping the animals for themselves.

Meanwhile I was searching PetFinder.com for hounds.  I found one I liked in a large litter of beagle puppies at Hickory Hill K-9 Rescue.  We went out to a PetSmart to meet one of the puppies named Lucy, but once there I actually liked her docile brother Charlie Brown more.  Unfortunately the foster mom didn’t like us because we didn’t have a backyard fence.  (She didn’t seem to understand the concepts of an “inside dog” or a “leash.”)  It was a yucky experience and I wouldn’t recommend going there.  Something about them seemed a little sleazy.  Almost like they wanted us to pay extra for them to “overlook” the fence thing.  (That’s a totally unfounded speculation.)

(Both Lucy and Charlie Brown are now listed as adopted – I hope they found good homes.)

As it turned out, it was fortunate that we didn’t get Charlie Brown, because we came across another batch of 3 beagle sisters (Marsha, Jan and Cindy) at the recently-opened King William Animal Shelter.  We went out to see them and I was struck by the littlest one (Cindy), who sat quietly while the other two sisters vied for our attention.  We brought her home three days later and I named her Bella.  (King William Shelter was a joy to work with.  They actually *are* interested in helping animals.)

We had decided that Bella would be our only puppy, because even if a Millknock puppy were available, they were much more expensive than we thought.  But about a week after Bella arrived, we got a call from Millknock saying that one of their puppies had become available.  Avedon had a detached retina and was blind in his right eye, so they couldn’t show him.  They offered him to us for half price (a scratch and dent sale, you might say).  Cynthia was smitten and two days later we were driving to Charlottesville in the first snow of winter to pick him up.  Cynthia named him Saint because he was born on St. Francis Day.  He’s a blue merle collie and looks almost exactly like Tristan (they actually share an ancestor).

So Cynthia and I are now raising two puppies:  A scrappy 6-month-old hound from a shelter and a 9-week-old, one-eyed collie from a rich ancestry of champions.  Sort of an odd pairing of dogs.

It’s definitely an adventure.  Raising one puppy is challenging enough, but raising two puppies of radically different ages (for dogs) and breeds is ten times harder!  We’re enrolled in a puppy training class that starts in January, but until then we’re on our own.

Bella is adjusting well to her new environment (after all, a few weeks ago she was wandering the streets (or woods) of King William fighting for what scraps of food her sisters left for her).  She took to her crate right away and understands the basics of housebreaking, though we still have to keep a sharp eye on her because she occasionally sneaks off to poop somewhere, especially if it’s cold or raining outside (which has been basically every day for the last month).  She looks and acts very much like dear old Abby.

Saint is a totally cute and confident little furball who’s convinced we should do everything he says, whenever he says it (after all, he is from champion stock!).  And he is not shy about voicing his displeasure when he’s confined.  The little guy has a powerful set of lungs which can produce a wide variety of unpleasant noises, from simple whimpering to banshee howls to crazy ululations.  (I fully expect animal control to show up at our doorstep one day.)  Thankfully he is starting to calm down as he adjusts to his new home.

The two puppies are getting along, although Bella isn’t very good at sharing and gets pretty defensive when Saint wanders too close while she’s chewing a bone.  Saint is mainly interested in following Cynthia and biting everything he sees, from hands to feet to power cords to blankets to table legs.  Everything except his toys, of course.

As for our cat Fiona, she is not speaking to us anymore.