A new doggie and memories of past pets
My mom found this cute little Schnauzer at the local SPCA a couple of days ago. Ever since our dog died, Mom has been looking for another one like him. But she wasn't expecting to find him when she went into the shelter a couple of days ago. She had originally been looking for another smaller sized dog in general, He died of cancer in June, and she was right there with him when the doctor put him to sleep. The poor guy was suffering so much he could barely walk, let alone lay down comfortably. The cancer was predominantly in one of his hind legs (there was a large tumor), and evidently it had spread to major areas and there was nothing the animal hospital could do for him. They told us we could take him to Northern VA to give him chemo treatments, but they weren't guaranteed to work, and they were expensive at like $2-3K a pop. Mom just didn't have that kind of money. Besides, he was so far gone that nothing could've saved him anyways, and he was in too much pain and misery as it was. Interestingly, no one else had an application on file for Jack. My mom was just lucky enough to have been the first visitor and to have found him that morning. Oddly enough, my mom went there looking for a Springer Spaniel she had seen on their web site, but he was gone. She was about to leave when she walked through the kennel one more time and boom! There was Jack. I'd say it was instant love. ♥ She came home crying later that day, happy, after she told me everything. (Ever since Littlebits died, she cries every time she sees a dog like him.)
Well, Mom got a call from the SPCA today. The shelter had to make sure it was okay for her to get Jack because she listed our household as having 4 adults, and they needed everyone's explicit consent before they processed the paperwork. So Renee (my sis-in-law) called them back and the woman talked to her, me and Mom and had the adoption approved. Yay! We get to pick up Jack tomorrow afternoon! :) After we talked to the lady on the phone, I got to see the little fella today. I have to admit, I didn't see anything particularly special about him. He was another Miniature Schnauzer like our dog was, but he was darker in color and little bit bigger than Littlebits. And his name is Jack, which is really weird because my nephew's name is Jake.. talk about confusing. (Not to mention Jack was my grandad's nickname, God rest his soul.) I kept telling Mom today that I knew I'd get their names mixed up. I just didn't really see too much that made him stand out to me, whereas something kinda stood out when we adopted Littlebits. He was kind of quiet and reserved today, which seemed odd to me because I'm so used to listening to the dogs barking at the shelter and particularly used to having a Schnauzer barking incessantly. He seems different, more laid back somehow. It was interesting to see how he interacted with Mom and I.
After Mom and I went to see Jack, we went to the Dollar General store and found him a dog bed. We already have a collar, leash and food bowls, so we didn't need to get those. Oh yeah, Mom also decided to get Jack microchipped, which is cool. I'm guessing that has to deal with finding him if he gets lost? (That would've been a big help if we'd done that for Littlebits cuz he used to get out a lot, and my poor little cat Zoe too.)
It's strange, every once in a while I still feel like our dog follows me up and down the stairs in the house. And you know, I still have moments when I'll expect Littlebits to be waiting at the door for me when I get off from work, but he's not there. It's a strange comfort, knowing that that love is still there. Sometimes I feel like he's still with us in spirit form, and I know he's happy to see us. :) Hmm.. hope I don't sound too crazy! Heheh. :) It's just that talking about Jack reminds me of our old dog and yeah, I'm just remembering stuff.
It shall be interesting, bringing a new dog into the house. Especially with my 4 month old nephew ^_^ He's not old enough to really bug Jack though, at least I wouldn't think so. The only thing I can imagine would be that Jake might get a little more attention than the dog. Anyways, I am kinda looking forward to seeing Jack come home tomorrow. :) I hope everything works out. His previous owner said he barked a lot (but Schnauzer's do that!) and most importantly, I hope we all have time enough to watch him and give him enough attention. Jack is 11 months old, so he's still young.. but I plan on taking him for walks on my days off. :) Maybe that will help me stay in shape! Yay, I'll have a walking companion hehe! :) Now all we really have to do is make sure he's properly socialized with other dogs. That would be great, seeing as our dog wasn't that great around other dogs IMO, especially males. Our dog was very territorial (as males tend to be) and if a female dog came around, he would whine and bark at her until she went around the corner. I just don't know what he would've done, had they both been loose. ^_^ Good thing he was neutered, so yeah.. no little babies running about. And he used to bark like crazy and chase the cats in our neighborhood, dear god. x-D The great thing about Jack is he's good around dogs & cats, and he's already been housetrained, so I'm hoping that we won't have too many issues with him messing in the house.
I think that's all for now LOL.
Well, Mom got a call from the SPCA today. The shelter had to make sure it was okay for her to get Jack because she listed our household as having 4 adults, and they needed everyone's explicit consent before they processed the paperwork. So Renee (my sis-in-law) called them back and the woman talked to her, me and Mom and had the adoption approved. Yay! We get to pick up Jack tomorrow afternoon! :) After we talked to the lady on the phone, I got to see the little fella today. I have to admit, I didn't see anything particularly special about him. He was another Miniature Schnauzer like our dog was, but he was darker in color and little bit bigger than Littlebits. And his name is Jack, which is really weird because my nephew's name is Jake.. talk about confusing. (Not to mention Jack was my grandad's nickname, God rest his soul.) I kept telling Mom today that I knew I'd get their names mixed up. I just didn't really see too much that made him stand out to me, whereas something kinda stood out when we adopted Littlebits. He was kind of quiet and reserved today, which seemed odd to me because I'm so used to listening to the dogs barking at the shelter and particularly used to having a Schnauzer barking incessantly. He seems different, more laid back somehow. It was interesting to see how he interacted with Mom and I.
After Mom and I went to see Jack, we went to the Dollar General store and found him a dog bed. We already have a collar, leash and food bowls, so we didn't need to get those. Oh yeah, Mom also decided to get Jack microchipped, which is cool. I'm guessing that has to deal with finding him if he gets lost? (That would've been a big help if we'd done that for Littlebits cuz he used to get out a lot, and my poor little cat Zoe too.)
It's strange, every once in a while I still feel like our dog follows me up and down the stairs in the house. And you know, I still have moments when I'll expect Littlebits to be waiting at the door for me when I get off from work, but he's not there. It's a strange comfort, knowing that that love is still there. Sometimes I feel like he's still with us in spirit form, and I know he's happy to see us. :) Hmm.. hope I don't sound too crazy! Heheh. :) It's just that talking about Jack reminds me of our old dog and yeah, I'm just remembering stuff.
It shall be interesting, bringing a new dog into the house. Especially with my 4 month old nephew ^_^ He's not old enough to really bug Jack though, at least I wouldn't think so. The only thing I can imagine would be that Jake might get a little more attention than the dog. Anyways, I am kinda looking forward to seeing Jack come home tomorrow. :) I hope everything works out. His previous owner said he barked a lot (but Schnauzer's do that!) and most importantly, I hope we all have time enough to watch him and give him enough attention. Jack is 11 months old, so he's still young.. but I plan on taking him for walks on my days off. :) Maybe that will help me stay in shape! Yay, I'll have a walking companion hehe! :) Now all we really have to do is make sure he's properly socialized with other dogs. That would be great, seeing as our dog wasn't that great around other dogs IMO, especially males. Our dog was very territorial (as males tend to be) and if a female dog came around, he would whine and bark at her until she went around the corner. I just don't know what he would've done, had they both been loose. ^_^ Good thing he was neutered, so yeah.. no little babies running about. And he used to bark like crazy and chase the cats in our neighborhood, dear god. x-D The great thing about Jack is he's good around dogs & cats, and he's already been housetrained, so I'm hoping that we won't have too many issues with him messing in the house.
I think that's all for now LOL.