I will never forget the first time our eyes met. I knew right then and there he was the one for me without a doubt. Those deep amber eyes like no color I had ever seen before pierced straight through to my soul. In an instant we knew all that we needed to know about each other. It was beyond description. That first meeting occurred 4 years ago at Open Door Sanctuary. No, it is not a dating service, it is an animal shelter and it is where I met the love of my life! Blue Independence Ray, a beautiful Coon Hound, Beagle mix (we think). I call his breed a Coonadoodle.
Our family had decided that we wanted to adopt a pet from a shelter in order to save a dog’s life. We had no particular need of a purebred animal; we just wanted a great family pet. And that is what we got! Blue is the best dog ever. He speaks 3 languages fluently, cycles with me emotionally and he can read my mind. Yes, he is telepathic and I think partly psychic. He knows just what I need to cheer me up and he is always there when I need him. I cannot believe someone just chained him to the shelter fence one Christmas night. Blue is just perfect (aside from the prescription eyeglasses he chewed up), how could someone not want him? We ended up loving him so much that we decided to adopt a friend for Blue. So, along came Sweet Pea aka Petey. Our life has never been the same!
Petey turned our life upside down the moment she entered the house. She is a little (code word for fat) Beagle female that we found at a county shelter. At first she was so sweet and innocent. She just sat on your lap and loved on you. She stole our hearts. She was a well, sweet pea hence the name. Then came the truth; she was not sweet she was sick. She had kennel cough. She would hack and hack until she barfed all over the place. It was like having a new born baby; we were up all night taking care of her. So we got antibiotics and Robitussin cough syrup and nursed the little angel back to health. Then Blue got the cough! He then hacked until he barfed at all hours of the day and night. We were miserable until the cough passed. My steam cleaner had never been used so much!
Well, soon all the dogs were healthy and then the true personality of our little sweet pea came out. It turns out she is a bossy, little doggie. She was bossing Blue, she was bossing the neighbor’s Rottweiler, she was bossing the kids, and she was even trying to boss the boss of the house (that would be me). That is when her name changed from Sweet Pea to Petey because there is nothing sweet about her. So why keep such a bossy dog you ask? Well, because the little skunk wiggled her way into my heart at some point when I was rubbing her throat trying to ease her cough or maybe it was when I was scrubbing her barf off the floor. That dog even had me fluffing her pillows for her. What a diva! And what a sucker I was. But you know me and you know I jest. I love her to death and would not sell her for any amount of money. Blue on the other hand will consider any reasonable offer.
So, what did we gain other than the priceless antics and loads of entertainment by adopting a shelter dog? Well, even though Petey had a rough start at our house with the kennel cough, we reaped some benefits by adopting dogs that were past the puppy stage. Both dogs were under a year old when we got them so they were trainable and cute, but they were both past puppy teeth. You know those razor sharp teeth that slice anything including skin at the slightest glance. So, aside from my glasses and countless pairs of socks neither dog has done any real chewing damage. (Those of you who know puppies know this is really very little damage.) Dogs are dogs and they chew, so please give your dog something to chew! You cannot expect them to just not chew, so teach them appropriate chewing. There, I am off my soapbox now.
The other great thing about their age was that they were potty trained! That is worth the adoption fee alone. I showed them the door, let them out and viola they were good to go. They were also old enough to know some obedience commands like sit, down, hump my leg. So, leash training and continued obedience training was easier so we could get to the really important tricks like hog the bed and lick the food off the kids’ faces.
So, please if you are thinking about adopting a pet from a shelter do it! If you are thinking of buying a pet from a breeder, check your local shelter first. You will not regret it. That is if you have patience and a sense of humor. If you do not possess these traits then get a Zhu Zhu pet, you can take the battery out if them when they get annoying. Well, I have to finish this article, Blue just told me it is nap time and I want to get a good spot on the bed. And yes, he told me telepathically.
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