Adding to the family (Say hello to Dodger!)

The last time I had any pets in my life was when I was living in Louisville, KY for a few years. During that time I had Sadie, a white boxer; Wicket a german sheperd/husky mix; and Molly, a mix puppy.. no clue what her breed was. Anyway, Sadie I had for a few months until I gave her to a friend’s family to take care of; Wicket went to another friend that was looking for the same breed.. Molly was unfortunately given away to my ex’s brother’s girlfriend.. without my permission. I had just moved out of the apartment and he agreed to take care of her for a few weeks while I got settled into my place. Unfortunately he ended up giving Molly away instead seeing as though he was the world’s biggest douchebag.

Since 2006 I haven’t had any kind of pets in my life. It’s just been my obsession with pugs growing larger than life. Pugs on my birthday cards, cards to other people, stuffed animal pugs, pug statues, pug jewelry.. If it has a pug on it you can be assured that I either own it or at one point wanted it. Last year while I was in the hospital, my mom decided to agree that I could get a dog although we didn’t have any time frame in mind. I did agree that it would be after I was able to walk.. November came around and I didn’t really think about a dog. February came by and there was a news story on a puppy mill raid that had a bunch of pugs in there. Unfortunately the animals were not being put up for adoption as the judge ruled against it. May came by and I was HOPING that for my birthday I would be surprised with being able to get a dog. I had an inkling of doubt but I fooled myself as I was given a card that had a little PAWS print with a note saying it was time I get a dog!

I looked through all listings for shelters, rescues and stores for a pug. The closest Pug rescue was in northern Illinois and majority of the Pugs were 7-8 years old, half-blind and would require someone with the finances to take care of their major ailments. Looking at rescues in other states were not an option. The Kentuckiana Pug Rescue required that you lived in the area as they did a home check.. they had a large selection of pugs too! When I was able to find pugs in my area, they were mixed breeds–Pug w/chihuahua, Pug w/German Sheperd, Pug w/ Beagle, Pug w/ Greyhound (this was an UGLY mix).. So I made the decision to hold off on a pug. I know, it was a rather shocking decision to everyone as they all felt I should wait.. But I had discussed that it would be best to get a family dog right now and in a few months if I’m able to find a Pug, then he (or she) will be adopted by myself.

Last night we went to our local PAWS last night after I had stalked their dog listings for days. I had narrowed my choice between two dogs: Carmel, a white/tan sheperd/husky mix, and Dodger, a fawn/tan/red sheperd mix. Going there last night was pretty tough as you’ve got a bunch of other dogs there just looking at you with the saddest eyes you could ever imagine. I wanted to take almost all of them home! Seeing Carmel was a bit of a disappointment. She wasn’t interested in me when I approached her–heck I think she pretty much ignored me! As I walked up to Dodger’s spot, he immediately looked at me and begged to me touched, licked my hand and was overall jovial. I spent a few minutes with all of the other dogs but ultimately said I wanted to meet with Carmel and Dodger.

Dodger was first up to meet with my family and I. He immediately went over to all of us and went nuts with face licking, sniffing us, laying on his back for belly rubs and of course licking every nook and cranny on the floor. We then had Carmel come in but she was just not interested in us at all. She wouldn’t come to us to be petted, didn’t want to be touched and was more interested in standing in front of the door than anything. The only time she did give any attention was when the PAWS volunteer gave us some treats to give to her to try to motivate her attitude a bit more.. But she still wasn’t having any of it. I was a bit discerning as I was really hoping to get along with her. This is essentially what made my decision easy.. Dodger was going to be my final choice. I think what really helped was that when my dad went up to his cage, Dodger got on his hind legs and let my Dad ruffle his scruff. My dad has never appeared to be a Dog whisperer of any sorts, so if Dodger can make the ice in my dad’s pet heart melt, then this was obviously going to be the one!

So without further ado, Dodger is now a part of my family! :D.

You can also check out my Flickr set to see a few more pictures of him. Obviously more to come over the months (and years!)