The Dog Blog - How we found our Angel (Gag)

*Warning*
This particular blog entry has nothing to do with gaming. I'll do more of a gaming blog later this week...maybe...ok probably not. I did pick up LA Noire this morning though so maybe I'll chat about that. This blog is all about our new dog :)

For the last few years I have been stalking PetSmart on the weekends because I love looking at the dogs. I've seen hundreds of dogs and never been overly tempted to take one home, until this weekend. Here was this fairly big brown dog just laying in her crate not moving, not showing emotion, just gazing off as if she was defeated and just didn't care. I tried to talk to her and was pleased with her casual indifference towards me. I can respect a good snob. Hannah got down and said "Hi" and darned if the dog didn't sit right up, sniff her nose, and then flop back down into her previous lackluster pose.

We kept walking around, looking at other dogs, the kids even took one out for a walk outside. While walking a very hyper white puppy Hannah said to me "This dog is nice, but Mommy I like Angel". Thinking she was just a normal kid who just wanted a dog I wanted to know WHY she liked her. So I asked. Her answer?

"Mommy her eyes spoke to me."

Well, who can say no to that? So we went back over to stare at this dog with her sad eyes and she was still just laying and not moving. I asked the volunteers if there was something wrong with her, and they assured me that she had a clean bill of health and was just lost in that store with all the people.

We left PetSmart and went to lunch, not wanting to make a rush decision. Bill is out of town for training so I sent him some messages giving him a chance to talk me out of it. Also, we were in Gainesville for the weekend at my parent's house, so we had to make sure they were ok with us possibly bringing a dog back for a sleepover.

None of us ate very much of our lunch, we just wanted to get back to Angel and make her part of our family. I'm proud of us for slowing down and talking first. After we paid our check we rushed right back to PetSmart.

The kids walked Angel around the store while I filled out paperwork and was interviewed to make sure I wasn't a serial dog killer. Although Angel walked around with her tail between her legs, we did find out that she is one smart dog. She sat when the kids told her to sit, and layed down, and they claim she rolled over on command too, but to me it just looked like she wanted her belly rubbed.

You're probably curious about what kind of dog she is. Angel is a 4 year old mutt :) She's a lovely mix of Retriever, Labrador, and Austrailian Cattle Dog, and she weighs in at a hefty 59 pounds. Luckily she's already full grown and I think that's a good size for us. She's calm, and lazy which I like because there's no way I could deal with a puppy in addition to everything else.

Oh, and did I mention we saved her life?

Whlie the people who rescued her from the "pound" didn't know her whole story, they did have her rap sheet which showed that she had been to the Humane Society THREE times in her life. Once as a puppy and then almsot every two years. To me it just sounds like she was a college student's dog and they tend to see pets as disposable things to play with while they're away at school and then return when they get their degree and go back home.

Her third visit was to be her last though as she was on the list to be euthanized (or so they claimed). That could have been a plot to further tug on our heartstrings, either way it worked, and she's ours.

She hopped right in the car when we took her home. She and Gracie (My parents dog) took a little while to get used to each other, but by the time we left the next day they were fast friends.

Angel did amazingly well on the long car ride home. We stopped for her to walk, eat, drink, etc four times. She refused to pee.

We made it home and walked her again, still no pee...lol. She sniffed out her new house, already looking 100 times perkier than the lost dog we found at PetSmart, and growled at me in a nice way. I'm guessing she was telling me she was happy.

She's settling in well. She lays at my feet no matter where I am. I did find this a bit unnerving when I wanted to go to the bathroom...:) She's great with the baby and so far they are ignoring each other. The cat has only tried to attack her twice, which is funny because the cat has no claws but poor Angel is still frightened of her and whimpers and hides behind me. Some tough dog she is, huh?

She helped me wake Hannah up for school this morning. She walked right in and gave her a kiss on the head and made Hannah's day. We let her ride with us to take Hannah to school, and Angel was confused when Hannah got out and kept looking for her in the car.

I don't know how fate worked out to drop her into our lives but I'm glad it happened. It seems like she's always been here already, and she is fitting right in. I can't wait for Bill to get home and meet her, and for his girls to as well...they're going to be so excited. It feels like she rounds off our family quite nicely. She's a clingy dog and needs a lot of love and attention and seems perfect for our huge family. I don't think she would do well in a house with just a couple people, but here she will have her fill of attention and love :)

Welcome home Angel!