It may seem out of the blue, but according to Wife, she's been wanting one for the past two-and-a-half years of our marriage. Who am I to deny her something she's wanted for so long? A week ago we brought home our new addition, Kona. She is a shepherd mix from the Helen Woodward Animal Center. Wife had seen her on their adoptions website and we both thought she was very cute. Then she disappeared from the website and we figured it wasn't meant to be. If you know my wife, you know that one an idea is in her head, nothing will move it out. So she checked the website daily. All of a sudden that cute little sherpherd mix was back. "It's a Christmas miracle!" I kid you not, those were her words.
I left work early the next day so we could take a look. As I walked to my car, Wife called and informed me that we had to wait 30 minutes because she was being looked at by a family. As you may know, we both pray about our decisions as a couple. In our respective cars, unknown to the other at the time, we each prayed that if we weren't supposed to have her she would be adopted.
Thirty minutes passed, painstakingly for Wife, and she called back. Still available! We arrived at the shelter and set up a meeting. She was just as cute as her picture on the website. Perfect coloring and ears that flop halfway. She took to Wife immediately and pretty much thought she was a lap dog. Sure, it's cute now but when she's full-grown that simply will not be okay. She seemed high energy and a little mouthy, but what puppy isn't? Now came decision time...
If you know my wife at all you know how she is at making decisions. She deliberates. Then she analyzes. Then she ponders. Then she asks me what I think. Then she thinks some more. After the mental anguish, er, process, we adopted our little pup.
Her first night was flawless. She moved around a lot in her crate, but she never cried once. The next day we stayed at home and let her get used to the house and to us. She even handled the firework shows like a champ. That day she was a bit wary of a few things, including walkers, runners, skateboards, other dogs and various household appliances. With each passing day, however, she gets more comfortable and can now be on the same sidewalk as a runner and not bark. She seems very intelligent and is pretty much housebroken already. I wish I got a cookie everytime I went to the bathroom.
We have begun the training process with her. She knows how to sit and is working on stay. We ignore her when she nibbles our feet. She seems to really want to be good and please us. She wants our undivided attention and itsn't happy unless she is with us. This has, thankfully, gotten better each day and we can both leave a room without her being reduced to a puddle of whimpers.
She can, of course, be incredibly frustrating. I have to remind myself that she isn't going to behave like a five-year-old dog because, well, she isn't a five-year-old dog. I'm learning patience, albeit slowly. Overall she has been a wonderful puppy this week and we are very happy about our new edition.
Meet Kona:
3 comments:
Congrats man! Kona will bring a whole new dimension to your life. It may be hard at first, but it is so worth it.
Oh she's cute. Her ears, specifically, are ridiculously adorable.
I love our lil baby :) Thanks for writing about her!
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