We did it! We got ourselves a dog. We have all had dog fever for awhile now and have been perusing the internets for just the right rescue dog. We'd find one, email about him/her, and often the response would be, "Rex is great but..." isn't good with kids, has a major squirrel thing or is missing one leg.
We weren't ready for a project.
Then we saw "Peanut."
How could we resist? I went to the shelter where he was bunking and he was as sweet as the description said. I called Frank who said, "We don't have a lot of time to search for a dog. If he seems good, just get him."
The shelter peeps had said that they would keep him there a couple of days to get neutered and microchipped. However, they were backed up with neuterings so they said, "You'll have to take him today."
I was mildly panicked, but only because I was thinking, "I better get some dog food."
Ha, dog food. Like that's all I would need!
I had NO IDEA how huge a responsibility it is to get a dog. Besides the training and extra time it takes to take care of one, here is a list of all the things you "need."
- Food
- Treats
- Different types of treats
- Bowl for food, bowl for water
- Bones
- Raw hide
- Leash
- Different type of leash
- Collar
- Different type of collar
- Tag
- Another tag for the second collar
- Poop bags
- Poop bag holder
- Crate
- Bed for the crate (that he doesn't even sleep on)
- Three bone toys
- Two "kongs" in which to put peanut butter
- A deer antler that the pet store guy swears he will like but he doesn't
- Balls--tennis, pretend tennis, squishy, rough, soccer, bouncy
- Squeaky toys
- A bone that looks like a log
- A gate for the stairs (borrowed from neighbor)
- A genie (from the makers of Diaper Genie) to dispose of poop bags
- A tie-out cord
- A ball that holds treats that he doesn't care for
- "Pet Corrector" spray
- "Bitter Apple" spray
- Little Green Machine steam vacuum to clean up poop and pee accidents
- Special spray so dog won't smell where he had said poop and pee accidents
- A trainer
- An invisible fence
- Dog boarding services
- A vet
$3,000 later...
We are all set!
While he has been cute and sweet from the get-go, it wasn't an instant love connection. In fact, I even made some efforts to "re-home" him. See, I wasn't particularly fond of having poop and pee in my house (and having to take up all of my rugs!). I also wasn't in favor of taking a dog out on a leash to go potty--I'm not exaggerating--21 times per day! I think most of my re-homing efforts took place on the sixth day, when Gus let the dog out and Smitty got a hold of one of the full poop bags with his mouth, flung it from side to side causing poop to fly all over our front porch. I may have sent a text to Frank saying something like, "I am done. Done. Done. Done. I can't live like this!" There were so many tears that first week.
But then...
He must have heard me making plans to find him another home and realized, "Hey, I've got a pretty good thing going with these fools" cause he stopped pooping and peeing in the house.
So instead of re-homing him, we will be his "fur-ever home."
Here are some pics of our first two+ weeks with Smitty. (Oh, and we got his name from another rescue dog that we had inquired about. He had only been Peanut at the shelter for a week so we figured it was okay to change it.)
Our first meeting at the shelter!
First night at home
Learning to love his crate
His coat all shiny after his first bath (well first with us)
Hanging out on the mat where I like to stand to make meals
Getting a rare gentle pat from Gus
His favorite place to hang out--the first step!
Another favorite spot
Learning new tricks!
