We had an errand to run in a nearby town and when we were through with it the wife said “let’s go to the local animal shelter”.
Yes, you guessed it, my Hordeling, we got another dog.
The wife got tired of dealing with scammers and less-than-reputable breeders and abandoned her desire to get a sheltie.
We went in “just to see” what dogs might need adopting. We looked at five different dogs and did a meet-and-greet with each of them.
The first was a female husky, possibly husky mix, with one blue eye (right) and one brown eye (left), about a year old. She’s very sweet and wants lots of attention. I took her for a brief walk, and she’s a husky all right. Lots of pull to her. She did walk mostly well though and only pulled in a different direction than we were walking in twice. She’d probably walk better on a harness.
The next was a male larbrador mix, about 7 years old. He was very sweet too, but a little skittish. He would make a good dog for someone who needs a companion but probably doesn’t have kids.
Next was a female (mostly) beagle, maybe two years old. She was very excited and loved both the wife and I, but she had a lot of energy and ended up scratching the wife and drawing blood. She was also a nervous pee-er and went on the floor several times while we were meeting her.
Last were a pair of sibling sisters. They might have been beagle mixed with something else. They had darker coats. This pair was very energetic. One of them really loved us, the other not so much. Ultimately the wife decided they weren’t for us.
After meeting them all, the wife wasn’t sure that any of them were exactly right for us, but she took another look at the husky. She started thinking about her being put down (it was a kill shelter) and couldn’t bear the though of her being put down.
Thus, we ended up with her. Yeah?
She rides well in the car. She does OK on a leash. We spent a while talking about names on the drive home. We finally settled on Magdalena.
We got her home. At first Major Tom met her at the door and snarled and growled. But we got all the dogs outside and let them run around the backyard together to get acquainted. The guys spent a lot of time sniffing her butt and getting her scent.
We gave her food and water and tried giving her a treat or two. She seemed confused over the treats and took her time getting around to eating them.
When we had dinner, she has already perfected the “I’m going to put my head in your lap, then slowly start climbing into your lap so I can grab your food” routine.
The wife has us helping with the local church’s Vacation Bible School. So this evening, instead of leaving Magdalena home alone with the guys, we took her with us.
She was a big hit with the kids. While the wife was busy taking photos, I sat on the porch with her. This is supposed to be her dog, and she is supposed to be taking care of it. Instead, we spent the time bonding, because the dog wanted non-stop attention. So, we had a solid hour of bonding time.
When we got back home, the wife spent about ten minutes of bonding with the husky. They did get along well, so if I’m not around I trust Magdalena will go to Jeanette for attention.I’m trying to get Jeanette used to getting up to let Magdalena in and out the back door.
Other than that, Magdalena is settling well into the household. The guys have mostly accepted her, but Major Tom and Sirocco are jealous about Magdalena trying to play with their toys. I’m sure that will work itself out.
We’ll see how she does overnight.
If you’d like to support my efforts, why not buy me a chocolate chip cookie through my Ko-Fi page? https://ko-fi.com/jhusum