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The deadline for getting 2002 dog licenses is Thursday, so Howie and I went to the county animal shelter to get Sarah her new tag. Before going in, we visited the Homeward Bound Humane Society right across the parking lot and looked at all the dogs and cats there. After we got Sarah's tag, we took a look at the dogs at the shelter.
Well...We were hooked. This little girl put her paws up on the gate and licked our hands, but she wasn't going nuts like her two cellmates were. And that face! She was dumped by the shelter earlier that day, so we can't bring her home until Saturday, when she's released for adoption. I'm going there every day this week to walk her and let Sarah get used to her. So far, Sarah does what she always does with puppies - just tries to avoid them! I think she'll be okay with her, especially since this pup wants to play and Sarah had better just get used to it. ;o)
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Entries and Updates
Jan 28, 2002
Our newest little doggie girl. :) Our first glimpse of her. We're not sure if the others in there are her littermates or not - I forgot to ask. We get to pick her up from the pound on Saturday.
Jan 28, 2002
The other puppies in there were very boisterous, but she just put her paws up on the door and licked our fingers. She seems to be a docile little female with good temperment.
Jan 29, 2002
Today I took her outside for about an hour and a half. At first she was a shivering, cowering little bundle of nerves and wouldn't move. But she started to loosen up, especially when almost everyone who walked by stopped to pet her give her lovin's. :) She's a friendly little thing, walking up to each person who came toward us on the sidewalk.
Jan 29, 2002
This is the pup's good side...
Jan 29, 2002
And this is her not-so-good side, LOL.
She puts me in mind of a Seinfeld episode where Jerry dates a woman who is very pretty when viewed in certain light and from certain angles, but very ugly when viewed from others. It's the same episode where we learn of the weird holiday George's dad created: "Festivus".
I searched the web to find the name of the woman's character, thinking it might make a funny name for the puppy, but it ended up being Gwen. She's just not a Gwen, that much is for sure!
Jan 29, 2002
Poor Sarah - before I let her out of the car on her leash, she looked so sad. Poor baby thought she was being abandoned to some fresh-faced pup. ;)
Jan 29, 2002
Boy, she does need some meat on her bones, that's for sure! A volunteer from the Humane Society was outside on her break and came over to talk a little. She dashed back inside and snuck out some puppy food; you should have seen that doggie dive into that food. The pups in her cell are a good 4" taller than her, and they hog the food since she's not aggressive. The lady cautioned me to be sure she gets food and has plenty of water, because the animal shelter can be less concientious about taking care of the animals than the humane society.
Jan 30, 2002
Our first choices for a name for her were Emma (or Emmy) and Zoe. Then Howie said we could call her Ada because that's the ASCII equivalent of her number at the pound: 141. Leave it to him to find a geeky name, LOL.
However, today while we were there, I commented to Howie about her protruding ribs and said, "She'd be a good Riblet". Howie repeated it. I think that may have stuck! Animals have a way of naming themselves, I think. ;) She's just a skinny little thing, and she looks like she might have some whippet or greyhound in her, so she is a little ribby thing.
So we think it'll be Ada Riblet.
Jan 30, 2002
She had loose stools today when we were walking her, too. Oooh, that can be so fun. She shall spend time in the bathroom and the kitchen for a while until that's cleared up! Glad I heard you can give a dog Pepto Bismol; I think we'll be buying some.
We have an appointment at the vet Monday morning for both dogs. Sarah will be tested for heartworm and given a new heartworm preventative shot that lasts six months. Riblet will get her first round of shots and whatever else new puppies get.
Jan 31, 2002
Today, Riblet and Sarah *played* together! Sarah was on the short leash, so she pretty much lunged back and forth and romped that way. She finally had all she could take and really let Riblet have it. Had her on her back and was snarling at her. I smacked Sarah's behind and told her no, and Riblet went as far away as the long lead would allow her, yelping and crying like she'd been hit by a car. She kept up her loud protests and would not willingly come near Sarah. I finally reeled her in and Sarah walked up to her and gave her a good sniffing over, with Riblet flopping over on her back in a submissive posture. Guess we can tell who's going to be top dog! I'm glad it's Sarah, because she was at the bottom of the totem pole where she grew up, and she's been an only dog since we've had her. I think they'll get a long just fine! I'm so relieved! :)
I cleaned inside Riblet's ears with baby wipes today, and it doesn't look like she has ear mites; they were just really, really cruddy in there. She's such a good-natured little gal and let me clean them really well with no protests.
One of the employees there said Riblet looks like she has some vitamin deficiency, and that is why she runs the way she does (kind of splay-legged). I need to do some research about this, and I'll ask the vet when we take the dogs there on Monday.
A side note: The pups had NO water in their dish when I took Riblet out, and still no water when I brought her back an hour later. I mentioned it at the desk as I was leaving, and the guy said he thinks the kid was back giving the animals water. Why they don't put in either heavy, tip-proof bowls or wall-mounted water dishes, I don't know. It's terrible there. I can't wait to bring Riblet home and give her a good bath and a loving home!
Feb 1, 2002
She's Home!!
And her name is Emma Ada Riblet, "Emmy" for short.
When I visited today, I saw that her two cellmates had been euthanized today, even though I could have sworn Saturday was their adopt/euthanize date. :( Emma was in a cell all by herself, in a different spot, and today she had both food and water (one day out of the four I've been there).
I asked an employee if I could please just take her home today, but she said state law requires the confinement, yadda, yadda...
So, I went to put her back in the cell. A few minutes later, the lady knocked on the glass and motioned for me to come up front. She said there *had* been a mistake on the paperwork, but it was in her favor - that I could take her home today! She gave her a shot and some worming paste, and we were on our way home together.
Another happy note: There was a grand reunion at the pound today. While I was putting Emma back, I got in a conversation with a lady who was considering adopting a 5-month old lab mix in the same area. As we spoke, a woman rushed in and, with her hands to her face, cried "That's my dog!" Then she yelled "JACK!" and this big lab puppy just went nuts - he wagged, wiggled, writhed and barked in joy. The lady, Tina, was in tears; she'd just gotten Jack from a friend two weeks ago, and he managed to get out of her fenced in yard. She was ecstatic, as was he.
So, despite my heart's heaviness at knowing some of those wonderful dogs were euthanized, there were at least TWO happy endings today.
Feb 1, 2002
When I started the bath water running, Emma was very curious and walked right over to investigate.
Feb 1, 2002
I think she's going to be a water dog and enjoy swimming - she wasn't phased by the water one bit. As a matter of fact, she walked up and put her face right in the spray to drink. She'd already had about 12oz water in the car before coming home, too, poor thing.
She has pronounced webbing in between her toes, so there's a water dog somewhere in her ancestry. :o)
Feb 1, 2002
She was very docile during her bath and didn't struggle at all. She let me lift her legs and give her a good lather and rinse - no problem with her face or ears, either.
Still, when I turned off the water, she was ready to get out!
Feb 1, 2002
She sure didn't seem to mind being swathed in thick towels.
Feb 1, 2002
She smelled SOOO much better after that bath. Whew!
Feb 1, 2002
Emma dozed off wrapped up all snuggly in a dry towel. So darned cute!
Feb 1, 2002
Has she ever known such luxury? I doubt it. She follows me around like a shadow; I think she's gonna be a mamma's girl. :)
Emma weighed 29 pounds when we took her to the vet Saturday. She stands a little under 22" high at the shoulder and is about 22" long from the base of her neck to the base of her tail. She's getting pretty darned BIG; though she's about 6 months old now, she's not quite the height of a 5-month greyhound puppy. It's so hard to tell how big she'll get!
This picture was taken at Dawe's Arboretum on 4/19/2002...
Gosh, this doggie loves to run!
