Birthday Dog
I waited a little while to write this post to make sure everything would work out.
For my birthday this year, my lovely wife got me a DOG! We named him Babou and he was awesome! Some kind of black lab/pitbull mix. He was a bit neurotic, and had a lot of learning to do. He was also extremely energetic, and every time he saw our other (poor old) dog, Cassie, he tried to attack her.
So we took Babou back 🙁
That same day (and the previous night) we looked through all of the dogs available for adoption via petfinder.com. We found several dogs that might be a good fit for us (which meant they were mellow, nice, and played well with other cats and dogs).
I dropped Babou off at the shelter we got him from. It was sad, but we were not the right family for him. He was a really good dog, and in a more energetic, less-populated-by-animals house, he will fit in just fine.
Next, I went to visit the Utah Animal Adoption Center to visit Lucy, a dog Beth and I had seen online.
I told the lady at the front desk that I was there to see Lucy.
“Oh, Lucy! We love Lucy.”
I got to visit with Lucy who was only interested in treats, and the lady that works at the kennel.
“Don’t worry,” she said, “in a few days Lucy will be following you around everywhere once she gets to know you.”
I told them Lucy was fantastic, and I wanted my wife to meet her before we adopted her.
Lucy was Beth’s top choice of what dog to adopt, so I knew she’d love her.
Later that day, we took our dog, Cassie, and headed to the local Petco where the shelter was bringing several animals for an adoption day (among them Lucy). Of course it was overwhelming, the amount of animals barking and running around, the people everywhere. Lucy was anxious and not on her best behavior. Beth was skeptical, but I promised that Lucy was the kind of dog we were looking for.
Our Kind of Dog
Quick side note. The dog we have now is about 15 years old. Even when she wasn’t an OLD DOG, she was always mellow and very chill. We also have three cats, and the way Cassie behaved, we might as well have had four.
Cassie is a basset hound + lab mix. She has a big body and tiny little basset legs. A ridiculous dog!
One thing we liked about Lucy is that she was a similar breed. She has a big body, and stubby, but sturdy legs. She has one eye that is mostly white, because in addition to being a Golden Retriever bred with a Basset Hound, she also has some husky mixed in. Her fur is golden, but has dark patterns spread throughout, and she has very very thick fur. She has loooong basset ears, and when she is sad, she starts howling like a basset!
The most important thing, though, is that she has the same temperament as Cassie. Where Babou was energetic and feral enough that he thought he had to bark and growl at any other nearby dog, Lucy seemed to just be focused on people, and whether or not they were going to pet her or give her a treat.
Hello, Lucy
So this is Lucy, our new dog. We’ve had her for a month and a half now, and she is fitting in just fine. She is full of energy, and is completely ridiculous. This is the first dog I’ve ever had that was MY DOG, and it is fantastic. She’s a sweetheart, and I’m looking forward to hiking with her all this summer.
LUCY:
Lucy + Cassie
If you’re wondering how Lucy and our old dog Cassie fit together, just look at this picture. They are a matched set of ridiculous!
