A Little Doggie Story

Posted by Vulnadia on Jan 14, 2010 at 10:24 AM As I have already posted, on the day after Christmas, our little doggie Pakita passed away. It's funny how easily we forget, that, just because an animal is small and looks like a puppy, that really they can be much older. Our little doggie had lived with us since Bregon was 7 and she was at least 4 of 5. We don't know for certain because we were her 3rd owners. All we really knew was her birthdate, not her birth year. But she lived a really long and while we had her, happy, doggie life. I wasn't GOING to fill her opening that she left anytime soon, really I wasn't. But, the other day, an email came up on freecycle for a little doggie that was pound-bound by the end of the day if the lady who had her couldn't place her. This little doggie was left homeless when her previous owners lost their home to forclosure and they literally left in the middle of the night. They not only left everything they owned behind or so it seems, but they left their little doggie, too. For several weeks, this lady had been watching this little doggie roam the neighborhood, managing to evade the pound's weekly drive-by roundups. The last straw came when, while having work done on the slab of her house, this little doggie was caught stealing the workermen's lunches and popping open their water bottles when they weren't looking and drinking out of them. As it turns out, she favours bottled water...and has high standards when it comes to food-scavenging. The workers complained and fussed at the lady who owned the home, telling her that she needs to feed her little doggie and give her some water for cryin out loud! The lady was surprised because that little doggie was NOT hers. At the request and lengthy begging of her son, she brought the little doggie inside the house to warm up at the end of the freezing cold-spell. Little doggie did NOT mind the other large doggies, however the larger doggies really minded having HER around. So, left with her husband's request to have her gone by the time he got home from work, the lady placed her email request on freecycle. That is where I first read about and saw this little doggie. In her picture, she was smiling for the camera.

My little doggie used to have the biggest, sheepish grin ever. This little girl was sitting pretty and smiling at me. I asked some friends for advice and help in the event little doggie didn't work out with my kids and they all thought she might be a good match for us. If not, they would help me re-home her if need be, and make sure she had a place to stay if for some reason she found our life & home too overwhelming. I talked to the lady who had her for a bit on the phone and learned that this lady also had a 3yr old and the doggie actually got along just fine with him. So, after a lot of thought and deliberation, I thought we should head out and meet this little doggie and see if she might like to give us a try. Afterall, she was in the market for a family, and our family had a HUGE pet opening since we were now totally pet-less and sad. From the moment I saw her through the glass, she perked up. She bowed to me like a friend of mine's doggie used to from faire and then she sat up and smiled. When the lady opened the door, she came out to meet me and immediately sat down next to me. We actually hit it off. Even the lady thought so, and she really wanted to be sure that this little doggie ended up with a good home. Little doggie climbed into the mommievan and met Vivienne, the only one of the kids who was still awake. They had been soo excited about getting ready to go and meet a puppy that the boys had tuckered themselves out! Little doggie IMMEDIATELY went to visit Vivienne and allowed her to give her a pat on the head and to scratch her ears. The lady said goodbye and we headed off for the REAL test. Would Bregon be mad at me or would he be happy to meet this new puppy? She rode all the way from Blanchard to Magnet in my lap, quietly. When we got to the school, Kian woke up and began to cry because he couldn't see her. The seat in front of him was up and in his way and view of the puppy, so he thought we didn't get to see her or take her home. I hopped out and put the seat down and the little doggie hopped back there and sat with him and got to know Kian. Kaiden woke up and joined in the puppy fun while we waited for Bregon to get out of team practice. When Bregon got to the car, he asked who's doggie we were puppy-sitting for. I told him that she didn't have a home anymore and that if he liked, we could let her stay with us a while and see if she would call our house home. He was soo shocked he almost cried right there in front of his team-mates. She rode home from the school happily in HIS lap this time. We stopped at the corner store for Icees and she whined while Bregon ran in to get everyone a treat. That night, we went out and bought her a crate, bedding and her own toys. Bregon picked out a lady-baby collar for her: It is red and gold paisley because he decided that she looked good in red. Her Lady helper had given her a gold fleece coat to wear in the cold and it had looked good on her, now she would match! We didn't know what type of food she preferred, so we picked up several different types of treats to go along with everything else. When we got home, her boy took her for a long walk while we set up her bed in the kitchen corner. As it turns out, little doggie came trained with manners and knows her basic commands. She is polite and even knows how to walk on her leash. She doesn't try and leave the yard, but if you leave the front door open, we found out that she will go for a walk! Right now, Bregon is working on a good name for her since she didn't come with one. Now begins our new life with a new little doggie who was much in need of a home.