Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Preparation for a Dog


Kevin and what will become his new dog

In the year 2000, I got a puppy.  She was an adorable little ball of fluff.  I loved her and trained her to the best of my abilities.  She turned into a pretty good dog, with one or two minor quirks.  She is terrified of thunderstorms, and turns destructive when they are around.  She also was taught by our other dog to run away from home.

This dog of mine grew older with me, but when I had to leave home for college she remained there.  She has been cared for by my younger siblings and they've done a good job.

However, her last caretakers are getting ready to leave on missions, and so Grig and I, after some thought and prayer, have decided to have my ancient 13-year-old dog come and live the rest of her life with us.

She's in really good shape for her age.  She's a border collie/Australian shepherd cross.  We expect her to live a few more years.

Last night, we went out and purchased a dog crate for her to live in.  I'm going to have to crate train her for when we are gone so that she doesn't ruin our apartment.  I'm not expecting too many problems, because I know her, and I know how good of a dog she is.

However, she's never been an inside dog before.  This will be a new and wonderful experience for her.  I think she will especially like not being out in the winter.  She's getting too old for the extreme cold.

The nice thing about bringing an adult dog into our home is that I get a chance to experience having an mature dog before I try to house train a puppy.  My dog is unlikely to chew on the furniture or have accidents in the house.  She has grown up around kids and is a wonderful kid-dog.  She also already has a lot of things, is up-to-date on shots, and comes with dog food.  That will certainly help the expenses. 

I'm looking forward to her coming.  Actually that's a bit of an understatement.  I'm STOKED about her coming.  However, I'm also a bit nervous.  I know it's going to be more work for me, but I'm up for it.  Change, in general, always kind of scares me at first.  It doesn't matter what it is, any big change makes me kind of nervous.  Even when I'm looking forward to it.

So, we're finally getting a dog.  It's just one that's already mine.  Isn't life whacked?

And wonderful?




9 comments:

  1. Wow! That sounds like it's going to be quite a change. But I'm sure you're glad that you'll be reunited with your old friend.

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  2. Hooray! ... I will kinda miss Dakota, however. Once when she got out we shooed her in the direction of your house.... yeah. She's a beautiful dog and I think it's pretty great she gets to be with you & inside for the last years of your life.

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    1. Aw, I'm glad you like her. She's a pretty sweet girl. I've missed her while I've been gone too.

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  3. This is great. Just incorporate her into your routine it will be a snap. Really the only thing you have to worry about is the baby eating the dog food . . yummy. I wish we lived closer together.

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    1. Ha ha! Yes, we thought about that. That's why the dog food is going in the laundry room where the baby (hopefully) won't get it. Thanks for commenting! I wish we lived closer together too.

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    1. She'll miss them too, but maybe we can bring her back occasionally to visit.

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  5. I didn't know Dakota was still alive! So glad you get to have her back again. She is a wonderful dog. :)

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