Saderiffic (Not horse related-- skip this one if you'd like :-))
There are some people in life that others just gravitate towards. Maybe it's because they're extra nice, or extra interesting or extra fun to be around. These are the people that don't need to make plans on a Saturday night, because they already have a dozen people who want to hang out with them. They don't need to work at being cool-- they just are. This, in a nutshell, is my dog.
I found Sadie at a rescue shelter in New York. After seeing the CUTEST Cattle Dog/Boxer mix on petfinder.com, I decided that I had to have a puppy, and more specifically THAT puppy, immediately. So with one of my best friends and her dog in tow, I loaded up my car and we took off on a two hour drive to Leftofmiddleofnowhere New York to pick up my dream dog.
Except she had crooked legs. And was extremely overweight. And was food aggressive. And was dog aggressive. Did I mention she was three months old? Yea. Scratch that plan. As we left to go get in the car, I said to Betsy, "I wish they had other dogs to look at." She urged me to go back in to see what else they might have or know of, because hey, you never know.
The woman told me that they did indeed have more puppies, but they really weren't ready to be adopted out yet because they hadn't been assessed by the shelter (because clearly my Cattle Dog/Boxer had been pegged perfectly by her description on petfinder- "a real love bug!"). The woman told me she would just this one time show me the puppies "out back." As she turned the handle on the door to the small building, an eruption of noise came from within. There was whining, there was crying, there was barking, there was howling, and as my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I realized that there were puppies in every possible space, corner, cage. And they all wanted me to take them home.
Now, I've never gotten to go horse shopping before. All the horses I've gotten have been by default, not because I chose them. So naturally the prospect of choosing my own dog was exciting, and not a decision I wanted to jump into. So I took my time looking over the room, reminding myself that I did not have to had a dog that day... that there are plenty of dogs in the world who needs homes... And then I saw her. Quietly standing with her paws at the top of the wire fence, smushed between four barking, squealing, Labrador retriever puppies, was my Sadie.
Of course, she stood out to me because she had a white stripe down her face and four white paws. I am a sucker for chrome after all. But when my eyes met hers, I didn't see the other dogs in the room. I wanted to choose a few dogs to bring back into the house and assess, but I couldn't. I only wanted her.
The woman from the shelter suggested we take her back into the house to let her run around, and do the same sort of assessment we had done with the first puppy. Sadie (named later) passed all of my tests, and did not appear to be at all aggressive or protective. I was still worried at this point though- about making the wrong decision. Maybe I should look at other dogs, I thought. Maybe I should take some more time. And then, as if on cue, Sadie bounced over to me, sat at my feet, starred up at me and smiled.
The whole ride home there was thumping in the back seat. Her tail never did stop wagging that day.
As you know from my previous entries, Sadie has become quite the world traveler these last few months. And I feel like a proud parent when I say that she is well liked by everyone. At a year old, she is better behaved than most of the older dogs, and without fail everyone that meets her tells me, "Oh, you got a good one. This is a good dog. If you ever need anyone to watch her..."
Sadie has always been well socialized. She has always looked like she might have a little Pitt in her (along with god knows what else), so I have been anal about making sure she gets along with everyone. Apparently my socialization theory has worked well for her, because upon arriving at Tuny's, she seemingly instantly became friends with everyone.
She has friends that are Jack Russells, and Corgis, and fancy schamancy toy dogs and Mutts. She loves Labs and Beagles and everything in between. She is friends with everyone and enemies with no one, and is the first to say "Hey, lets play instead!" if two dogs look like they are going to get out of line. She is my little peacemaker, my watcher (she always keeps an eye on me when I do turnouts, just in case I get lost), my foot warmer and pillow stealer. The three of us- Fizzy, Sadie, and me, have made quite the trio. From plane rides to van rides to horse shows, we've gone everywhere together. I doubt that she and Fizzy will ever be friends, but we'll always, always, be family.
I found Sadie at a rescue shelter in New York. After seeing the CUTEST Cattle Dog/Boxer mix on petfinder.com, I decided that I had to have a puppy, and more specifically THAT puppy, immediately. So with one of my best friends and her dog in tow, I loaded up my car and we took off on a two hour drive to Leftofmiddleofnowhere New York to pick up my dream dog.
Except she had crooked legs. And was extremely overweight. And was food aggressive. And was dog aggressive. Did I mention she was three months old? Yea. Scratch that plan. As we left to go get in the car, I said to Betsy, "I wish they had other dogs to look at." She urged me to go back in to see what else they might have or know of, because hey, you never know.
The woman told me that they did indeed have more puppies, but they really weren't ready to be adopted out yet because they hadn't been assessed by the shelter (because clearly my Cattle Dog/Boxer had been pegged perfectly by her description on petfinder- "a real love bug!"). The woman told me she would just this one time show me the puppies "out back." As she turned the handle on the door to the small building, an eruption of noise came from within. There was whining, there was crying, there was barking, there was howling, and as my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I realized that there were puppies in every possible space, corner, cage. And they all wanted me to take them home.
Now, I've never gotten to go horse shopping before. All the horses I've gotten have been by default, not because I chose them. So naturally the prospect of choosing my own dog was exciting, and not a decision I wanted to jump into. So I took my time looking over the room, reminding myself that I did not have to had a dog that day... that there are plenty of dogs in the world who needs homes... And then I saw her. Quietly standing with her paws at the top of the wire fence, smushed between four barking, squealing, Labrador retriever puppies, was my Sadie.
Of course, she stood out to me because she had a white stripe down her face and four white paws. I am a sucker for chrome after all. But when my eyes met hers, I didn't see the other dogs in the room. I wanted to choose a few dogs to bring back into the house and assess, but I couldn't. I only wanted her.
The woman from the shelter suggested we take her back into the house to let her run around, and do the same sort of assessment we had done with the first puppy. Sadie (named later) passed all of my tests, and did not appear to be at all aggressive or protective. I was still worried at this point though- about making the wrong decision. Maybe I should look at other dogs, I thought. Maybe I should take some more time. And then, as if on cue, Sadie bounced over to me, sat at my feet, starred up at me and smiled.
The whole ride home there was thumping in the back seat. Her tail never did stop wagging that day.
As you know from my previous entries, Sadie has become quite the world traveler these last few months. And I feel like a proud parent when I say that she is well liked by everyone. At a year old, she is better behaved than most of the older dogs, and without fail everyone that meets her tells me, "Oh, you got a good one. This is a good dog. If you ever need anyone to watch her..."
Sadie has always been well socialized. She has always looked like she might have a little Pitt in her (along with god knows what else), so I have been anal about making sure she gets along with everyone. Apparently my socialization theory has worked well for her, because upon arriving at Tuny's, she seemingly instantly became friends with everyone.
She has friends that are Jack Russells, and Corgis, and fancy schamancy toy dogs and Mutts. She loves Labs and Beagles and everything in between. She is friends with everyone and enemies with no one, and is the first to say "Hey, lets play instead!" if two dogs look like they are going to get out of line. She is my little peacemaker, my watcher (she always keeps an eye on me when I do turnouts, just in case I get lost), my foot warmer and pillow stealer. The three of us- Fizzy, Sadie, and me, have made quite the trio. From plane rides to van rides to horse shows, we've gone everywhere together. I doubt that she and Fizzy will ever be friends, but we'll always, always, be family.
posted by Liz @ 9:24 PM
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