No longer dogless

[altivo]

The house has been empty and quiet since Red left us last November. I keep forgetting he's gone, and saving treats for him and expecting him when I come in from outside. I've been watching the pet adoption sites for weeks. Finally, "Laddie" showed up. He's been featured in the county newspaper every day for at least a week, with no takers. Picked up as a stray, no ID, in Ohio. Rescued from a kill shelter there and brought to Helping Paws here. Today we went to meet him, and I'm sorry he had to wait since New Years because I would have chosen him much sooner had I known. Five years old is his estimated age, and the shelter people think he's a rough collie mix but I think border collie and husky. He's shaggy and cheerful, but not barky. Energetic and really friendly. It was love at first sight and I felt bad about having to leave him in the kennel there overnight but that's the standard policy. They checked our references (mainly our vet) and called after closing time to say we're approved and he can come home with us tomorrow. Here are his photos from the adoption page.





Now to declutter the house, find a doggie bed for him, and pick some toys out of the toy box to welcome him home.

Comments

[songcoyote]

I can see why this little guy caught your eye! What a cutie!

Having dogs around is amazing. When we lost our Max and Misha so close to each other we thought it would be a while before we could get another. Then Cosmo showed up in our lives, and we knew better <3

Yay for happy dog times! Dogs are love :D

Light and laughter,
SongCoyote

[altivo]

Yay, indeed. I've been moping around too much, and I suspect this guy is going to be keeping me busy for a while. He seems to have some basic commands, but I'll be looking into obedience class with him. Unfortunately the place we went with Red has shut down, but there must be another good one.

I'm sure he'd have loved the sheep, but not having them to take care of any more means I can give him that much more attention. Should be enough trade off, maybe.

Have to focus my almost non-existent telepathic abilities to try to find out what his real name is. "Laddie" was given him by the shelter since no one knows what he was called or really how old he is. I think their 5 year estimate may be a bit high. He acts more like a two year old to me. :)

[songdogmi.livejournal.com]

What a sweetie. He looks like he could be a whole lot of fun. Congratulations!

[altivo]

Thanks. He's been really good in the house, and is very eager to snuggle and be touched. I'm thinking he's quite a bit younger than 5 years now. His behavior is much too puppy like and I'll bet he's under 3. Pulls on a leash like a team of horses though. This guy is strong, and has big paws. Might be collie and rottie cross or collie and malamute, in which case he isn't at his full weight yet. More training is in order immediately.

Heart melting ways when he tries to climb into your lap, but won't fit. On the other hoof, he nearly suffocated me by trying to get in bed with me yesterday and lying right on top of me.

[lhexa]

This is tangential, but thank you for making the effort not to support the system of commercial dog breeding. I think Laddie will prove to be a wonderful companion.

[altivo]

Oh yes, we take that quite seriously. When we met some 35 years ago, Gary had a dog from a breeder (not a pet store or puppy mill) and she was wonderful. But since then, the seven other dogs we've had were all rescues of one sort or another. Every one of them was special in some way.

Laddie is our eighth rescue and clearly is going to be just as great as the others. He learns fast, wants to stay close to us, and we're already well attached.

[lhexa]

The sad thing is that the ethical breeders strengthen the system too, by providing an example for people to point to.

Have you ever kept multiple dogs at once?

[altivo]

I do value breed diversity, and there's something to be said for pure breeding for that reason. At least, for most breeds.

Sure, we have had as many as three dogs at once. We consider two to be our normal count, and once we are sure that Laddie gets along with other dogs, we will probably add another. Two dogs will often keep each other company, play together, and stay amused when we are busy elsewhere.

[lhexa]

Looks like sound reasoning to me. ^_^