I’ve been keeping a secret from you all. But I want to share an important family update. We’ve added a member to our family! We got a new dog!
Back story
It all started during the second semester of last school year (does anyone else think of academic years instead of calendar years? Just me? Wow, wow.) My daughter was accepted into the National Junior Honor Society and one of the requirements was to get volunteer hours in the community. We both went through the process of becoming volunteers at the local animal shelter. It’s actually a very long training process – requiring multiple training videos, completing tests, and introductory information sessions before you can even start volunteering! So far, we’ve only volunteered by reading to the dogs (which is done outside the kennel). If we ever progress to actually handling animals, the training will be even more rigorous!
Anyway, we started reading stories to dogs a few months ago and I should have known it was over from day one. We toured the animal shelter and there were so many adorable dogs and puppies begging us to take them home! At first, we talked about the possibility of being a foster family. But talking about it further, it just didn’t make sense. If we were going to open our home and hearts to a new animal, train them to go to the toilet, teach them what they can and can’t chew, deal with potential property destruction, etc. why do this over and over again with different dogs? Why not just adopt a dog, train them, and make them ours? At least, that’s my argument in discussions with our husbands. <3
Finding the perfect dog
It took a few months, but my husband finally agreed to the idea of us becoming a two-dog family! We were patient in our search. We had a very specific type of dog we were looking for. I had always wanted a Labrador, so that was at the top of my wish list. Ideally, we wanted a dog that was already housetrained, but still relatively young. We wanted a male dog. Personality and temperament that was sweet and friendly were the most important things. We had already met two dogs that we decided weren’t a good fit based on personality. But when we met Shadow, we knew he was the one!
Shadow meeting
Shadow is 11 months old and has been with us for about 6 weeks now. He is still a puppy in terms of energy and excitement! But he is old enough to come house trained (thank goodness!). Other than that, he was basically a blank slate. He had never even walked on a leash before! There was about a week of “warm up” period between him and our other dog, Biscuit. Biscuit was very possessive at first and became very needy for love and reassurance when we first brought Shadow home. Thankfully, Shadow is the calmest Lab puppy you can be! He found his place quickly and easily, happy to let Biscuit be “the boss.” Biscuit also has some back and hip issues and Shadow learned very quickly to be gentle and careful with her.
Although he still has some puppy-like tendencies (oh, and he can be a bit destructive if not supervised closely), he is very eager to please. He wants to be a good boy so badly, but he doesn’t know all the rules yet. Above all, he is the sweetest, most affectionate dog I have ever owned. He got his name “Shadow” because he follows me around the house like my shadow. Even when he lies down under my desk while I work, he rests his head on my feet. He always wants to touch me.
Costs
Of course, having a new dog means more costs. There were the usual costs of setting up vet care and using twice as much dog food. But since we “rescued” him from a shelter, it was actually incredibly cheap. We just paid the registration fee! The most expensive thing by far was paying for the dog’s boarding when I went on my last trip to Wisconsin. With our older dog, Biscuit, she was able to stay at home while Shadow had to be boarded. I mentioned the boarding costs when I wrote my post about that trip, but I didn’t go into detail about the cost. While my husband was home at the time, he worked very long hours outside the home. We have a doggie door, so Biscuit is fine staying at home where she can go in and out to use the bathroom, and my husband can feed her and fill her with water in the evening when he gets home.
But that wasn’t going to work with a new puppy. He still hadn’t learned what he could eat (and couldn’t eat), and neither of us were comfortable leaving him home alone for long periods of time. As such, if I was gone for a few hours, he had to go in his crate, because otherwise he would find something to chew on and he shouldn’t. It would be extremely time-consuming for him to stay in his crate all day while my husband was at work, and even with someone to play with him once or twice a day, we couldn’t trust him not to chew on our furniture or be extremely destructive while he was home alone. So, while it seemed strange to have a dog in a house while my husband was technically home (evenings only), it was the best option for the few days I was away.
At this point, Shadow has already become an integral part of the family! It’s crazy how quickly he has found his place in our home and in our hearts. I’ve had 3 dogs in my adult life (not many), but he is the first dog I’ve ever loved so deeply that quickly! I know that as he grows and continues to learn the ropes and right from wrong, he’ll become the best dog I’ve ever been. Even Biscuit has become so enamored with him. When he’s away, she’ll whine and sleep in his crate, like she misses his scent and wants to be near him. When we brought him home, she was so happy, her tail wagging like crazy as she ran up to him to greet him. They have such a sweet and special bond!
Are you a pet lover? How many pets do you have? What is the maximum number of pets you would consider getting? I think having two dogs is a good thing for us now.
The post Important Family Update was first published on Blogging Away Debt.
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