Last night my wife and I took the plunge after losing our Jack Russel 4 year ago!
He is a supposed 2 year and 3 months old. He is a Shi-poo!
We had to go 50 miles to get him and he was friendly from the git go!
I was taken back a little because the lady that had him broke her ankle on Monday and this was the reason for giving him up!When we went into the house on arrival at 5:15 PM this poor dog was in his kennel.
We chose to bite our lip and not to comment on the kennel so early in the day! We eventually asked her if he was OK with strangers since she had him kenneled. She took the hint and let him out and we took time to get to know him and to be sure he was comfy with us!
His age was a concern but the rehoming fee was free and we got a story how she had a dog sitting business and this dog was brought to her every day for a couple months and then the owner started bringing his kennel and later brought his toys and then the next day brought his vaccination papers of which he is over due for his rabies by 6 months! The she says the lady didn't come to get her dog or pay her! She took him over 6 months ago! The rabies issue gets remedied on Thursday!
He is about 7 lbs over weight, he weighs 25lbs, we will take care of that. She claimed she rarely fed him people food but she brought us a slice of cheese to give as a treat and insisted he would get to know us and warm up to us. As soon as she left the room the cheese went in my pocket! He didn't need warming up to us, he was all in for the attention! We stayed at the house for maybe 45 minutes and the lady gave us some privacy to decide!
Our minds were made up! He was every bit the gentleman she said he was.
In my mind, there was no way I was leaving him there to go back into that kennel for the rest of the day and night!
He came with his nice wire kennel, a stuffed animal and a filthy squeak toy. When we lifted the kennel take it to the truck, it looked like she had shag carpet under it that was nothing but dust bunnies!
When we got into the truck my wife instructed me to stop at Wally World because that pillow the lady thought should stay in there til he gets used to our scents was going into the trash when we get home!His stuffed toy got washed but she bought him a new squeak toy and he loves it!
Within a couple miles, Sam wanted to get in the front with us and my wife obliged him and later saying that he slobbers a lot! So when we get to Wal Mart, I was in the truck with him and it was then that I realized he had gotten sick all over my winter coat that was on the console! I called my wife in the store and told her that that slobber was vomit and to step it up so we could get him home! Poor guy wanted in the back seat after he got sick and being dark in the truck ,we had no idea! I found a pile of vomit or feces on the passenger side seat in the front, I still don't see how the wife didn't get her foot in it.
We got him home around 8 P.M. and the first order of business was to throw coats in the wash, then put Sam in the tub. She washed him twice and he was still expunging dirt and junk! She cut some of the knots out and tonight we take him to the garage and do his belly and legs and then to the groomer as soon as we can get him there!
The lady wanted us to promise that if he wasn't working out that we would return him to her! I hope she doesn't read these forums because I lied! He will work out or I will personally find a family for him where he will be cared for! He wont go back to that house!
She gave away 2 other dogs that day and she had one that she said was with for 7 years and she was keeping it! When we got to the house, her dog checked us and left the room to who knows where?
He was on a farm and she says he would eat cow manure or most and he anything he found out side! I think that's why he is over weight besides being stuck in a kennel all day! He had free reign between her rented farm house and her land lords and he had cats and dogs and it was there that he got into cow manure etc..
She gave me his vaccination records and she said she didn't know exactly how old he was but the original owner told her that she was just under 2 years and that was 6 months ago!
She must have improvised on a bith date because there is one listed on his vac records.
He is a jolly fella with lots of energy and the playfulness of a pup but is gentle as he plays. He still needs to learn basic commands like sit, lay, shake etc.. He knows "No" and kennel but today I got him to shake, with small treat!
We still don't know how he signals his desire to potty! The lady told us he has a grunt or something that she tried to mimic and I thought I was going to lose it LOL! I just took him out and he seems to dance in a circle and headed for the door when I got up. He did his job! We are just staying with him and using the word potty on a schedule and a treat when he does his job but he is house broken!
I would have posted a pic but he is all black with a white chest and a little beard on his face. His eyes are covered from his lack of grooming so he just looks like a black blob in Photos.
Were not sure how he will take to camping with us, its evident he will need some adjustment to ride in a vehicle!
My theory as to why he got sick on the way home may be due to the fact that he was put into a vehicle with new people and he had never been taken on rides! Being dark out side and the movement of the truck may have really caused him some distress! But maybe the vet can help us with motion sickness. We just do our camping 5 miles from home until we take our summer trips.
He slept well in his kennel last night and not a word from him! I got up at 5:30AM and we went out! I took a nap later this morning and he tried to nudge me to play but we want him to learn a time to play and time to rest. He gave up on playing and went to his kennel on his own and took a nap. His kennel is open a during the day to come and go at his leisure! When I stirred, he stirred, we got up and went out, took a walk and came back in and played fetch with his new squeak toy!
We ate dinner and went outside for a walk. he is crashed out on his own right here by me at the laptop! Our thinking is to see how he does out of the kennel alone after a period of time and then give him the run of the house at night, and do away with the kennel just like we have our other pets
He supposedly loves kids and we will put that to the test Saturday when we have 3 of the grandkids for the night! There will be a total of 7 who will adore him and one newborn who in time will test his patience! We will have to keep on that for a while!
We raised our kids with dogs and cats but the one son and his wife don't want pets and she was raised on a farm with lots of cats ,but they stayed out side in the barn! So their kids ask us on occasion if we will get a dog or cat and just last weekend I told the 4 year old that we might look for one and she asked if we were really thinking about it?
The new family member is a secret for now, a surprise for them on Saturday, but it will be easy does it till we are all acquainted and comfortable. As it stands it feels like he will fit the family fine and will work as far as I can tell! Its just the wife and I most all week so he wont get too overwhelmed with kids!
