Thursday, October 04, 2007

Yen Fulfilled



That's right, folks. Timm loves me enough to give into this yen that he would otherwise live out his entire life without ever indulging. Timm is not an 'animal person', I suppose, never having had pets as a child, but he has adapted wonderfully since meeting me! Me let me get my dog!
Meet LUCY.
(Somehow even though Timm claims not to care about them, he has gotten to name all of our pets, including Lucy.)
Let me spotlight her a little bit. I will not be offended if you skip this one. I can only think of a few people that would actually care.
I think I made the perfect choice, and I do not regret it a bit! Hopefully Timm can say the same. I would say that Timm seems to like her, but he would correct me and say something along the lines of, he tolerates her. EIther way, she definitely likes him.
Lucy is most likely a Puggle (a Pug/Beagle mix) but may have some Boston or other Terrier in her.


This is a very pixelated picture of a Black Pug.

Again, with the pixelation!! This is a Boston Terrier.


Pixelated Beagle.
Anyway- Back to my dog. I got her from a rescue group in Tennessee, and she is only a year old. I used to think that I only wanted a puppy, because puppies are cute, and everyone wants to enjoy the puppy part of a dog's life, I want it to be acclimated to our cats and Bella etc.- Well, in this instance I was wrong. I reminded myself just how much work a puppy can be. I revisited the long and frustrating house-training process, the chewing, the infancy-like dependence... If you get a mix breed like I was looking to do, you can never be quite sure what you are getting. It may end up being much larger that you intended, or have a breed in it that makes it hyper! You can't really identify these things until the dog has grown a bit-So I am SO glad that I got a young dog instead of a puppy! It makes me question whether I will ever get a puppy again. At one year old, she is very young and spry with many years ahead of her, but she's full-grown at just under 17 pounds. She came to me crate-trained, pretty well-mannered, socialized, and best of all: HOUSETRAINED! House-training is such an arduous task and I am glad to be rid of it.
She's very affectionate and likes to be a lap pup when allowed. She follows me everywhere- One room to the next, sometimes one step tot he next. She wants praise and attention more than anything (you might say she has a 'compulsive need for praise.') and is very eager to please. She listens very well, and learns quickly. I don't think she has had any prior training since she was saved from the shelter, but she seems to instinctively know what I want her to do. Today we took her to the vet and on the way home I had to run into the grocery store for a minute. I cracked the windows and told her to stay. She didn't try to make a run for it when I had the van door opened, and while checking out, Bella had grabbed my keys and inadvertantly opened the back of the van. When I realized as we got out side, I ran to the van to see if she had bolted. Quite the contrary- she was nowhere near the back hatch. She was sitting waiting eagerly in the front seat.

With even a glance in her direction she starts wilding flapping her tail. This is perfectly acceptable since it is small, thus avoiding the 'tail of destruction' phenomenon we see in the larger dogs. Say... a Lab. She is the perfect size- small, but not too small. She fits on your lap and can go anywhere with you, but she is not so small that she can't get up or down the furniture, or into the car, or a step for that matter. She is not small enough to be easily hurt by a misstep and big enough not to be scared of little kids. She doesn't have a hint of aggression in her- she doesn't seek after Bella, but she is totally fine with her. She is intrigued with the cats, as they are her (especially Smeagle.). I was afraid that she might chase the cats, but several times now I have seen her running down the hall whimpering with Smeagle in close pursuit. They are at a point where they can come face to face without any claws drawn, most of the time. Twice now Smeagle has let Lucy lick him extensively from the neck up. I predict they will be cuddling in no time.
I didn't hear a single bark for the first three days, but when someone came to the door, she let 'em have it. She is usually called off easily, or as soon as I let them in and recognizes a potential new friend. She doesn't have a yappy bark either, so she's a good watch dog.
She has plenty of energy to play, but she's not spastic. So far a walk and some rough play in or out in the yard seems sufficient for her. She loves to run in the back yard, but we're still trying to learn where the boundaries of our property lay. Without being hyper or obnoxious, she is able to keep up with anything we may do and loves a good wrestle on the floor. I think I have sufficiently extolled most of her virtues, so expect more and better pictures of the newest member of our family. I think I found the perfect pup.


(to show scale :)

15 comments:

Rin said...

Oh my gosh, she looks darling and sounds darling. I'm so dog hungry it's not even funny. I agree, I would never want to get a puppy. Besides the cute factor, they just aren't nearly as cool as a grown-up.

Bridget said...

I am soooo very excited for you! I of course love dogs and it does sound like you found the perfect one! I was worried when I didn't hear anything about the dog hunt for a while that you had maybe given up but really you were in puppy heaven. Love your pictures of her. Looking forward to more.

Anonymous said...

This explains some of the comments you were making to Bella this morning while we were talking...but still, you are a traitor to make me wait :P

Congrats- she is a cute dog for sure. I can't believe I made it through the whole post and the only thing I related to is the "tolerates her" feelings that Timm expresses.

Happy FOR you!

Robin said...

Oh man Jessie...let's just say I'm already in love with Lucy, and I've only seen a handful of pictures and a good description. (: She is SO adorable. Argh, I want a dog so bad!!!

I am so glad you guys were able to fulfill your dog dreams! (: I'm sure Timm will come to love her. ;) I can't wait to meet her someday! Thanks for letting me know I needed to check your blog today - this definitely does good for my heart. :D

(forgive the disjointed, elementary school writing)

michelle said...

Ha! Hannah's comment totally cracked me up. It sounds like you found the perfect dog for you. I definitely like the idea of no house-training, little barking, and no tail of destruction! She certainly is cute. But what's up with letting her lounge on your cute couch? As Grandma says, I like dogs, but I like my things better...

Diana said...

She is a very cute dog. i am happy for you. I agree with Hannah timm will warm up to her, look how much he loves your cats.

Melissa Marilyn said...

I love your writing style Jessie! I am like Timm, a tolerator of pets, but she is adorable. Mostly, I just wanted to say that I LOVE your couch! Please post more pictures of your cute house. Have a happy day!

RoRo2 said...

I have a Puggle too! Her name is Texas and she is more the brown color with black, your dog does look like a puggle, nice coat too, shiny. I love Lucy's collar!

Puggle's are so great! I love mine, they have energy but at the same time can be little cuddle bunnies, and they are big enough that she loves to go hiking with my husband, you'll have to look at older posts for pictures, it's actually the puggle in the picture to the right.

Love Puggles!:) I understand about rescuing, I think if we went to an adoption or rescue place and they had a Puggle we wouldn't be able to turn it down! But we would then have three dogs so we avoid that!

Alright, I'll go now, enjoy your new dog!

Anonymous said...

My yen for a dog grows when I see Lucy--she is SO CUTE! She is the perfect size. Does she have any faults? I LOVE HER!!

Karli said...

she is darling! Great job picking. So glad you have a new friend. You are sure to be even happier in your new home with a new family member! Congrats!

Unknown said...

What a cute puppy!! I love her!! When I come and visit sometime I definitely want to bond with Lucy--cute name! I love puppies!!

Jill said...

Congrats on having your yen fulfilled. Lucy seems like she's got all the qualities you wanted in a dog.

I can't imagine not being annoyed with something following my every step and having an obsessive need for praise, but then again I'm not an animal lover like you.

Anonymous said...

So...if I make a dork of myself and make another pleading comment will you post again :)

Anonymous said...

I have to agree, she's cute! And sweet! And silky!

Okay, Lucy it is. I wanted to name her Missy Lou Who......

Jill said...

Jessie my dear, I realize you are an all or nothing personality, and I can appreciate that. But you need to post!!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...