Thursday, June 21, 2007

Puppy Love

We have been dogless for over a year. A few months before we left Wakulla, our lovely orange Nikki died of old age. Well, actually, we (I) put her to sleep. She told me she was ready, so I did.

Then, just before we moved to town, our other dog, Beryl, failed rapidly, and when she told me to, I took her in to be put to sleep as well.



It was a tough time and we mourned mightily. But getting another dog wasn't really feasible. We were selling our home and moving to town. When we got to town, the yard wasn't fenced and there really was nowhere for a dog to live. If we bought that house, we'd make a dog-friendly yard, but until then? Dogless.

Then we bought this house, which has a nice, largish, fenced yard, and we began planning to get another dog. We decided to wait a little bit, in case we wanted to take a trip. It's not really fair to a dog to get it and then abandon it to dogsitters while you go off for a week or so. So we were planning to wait.

But then THIS happened:
IMG_2392 IMG_2395

This is "Kita". She belongs to my stepson and his wife. When they got her, they were told that she was part shepard and part lab. I don't think so. She has a gorgeous gold and black brindle coat, and to my knowledge, neither of those breeds have a coat like that.

No... we think she is part shepard and part catahoula.
German Shepard Catahoula
She's got the shepard ears and face, with the catahoula shape, coat, and markings. She also has the finer bone structure of a catahoula.

Very sweet, eager to please. We've had her less than 24 hours and have managed to get her to walk on a leash without pulling. She's had little training, and definitely not enough exercise.

My stepson says the dog was his wife's idea. But neither of them have enough time to spend on a dog and since she's working so much, the work of having a dog is falling on him. He likes the dog, but doesn't care for the work of owning one.

We have a solution. Give us the dog. You guys can come visit her, but here she'll get lots of attention, lots of training, lots of exercise... and lots of love. Give her now, while she's still adaptable, not in two years when she's totally neurotic from not having enough exercise or attention.

I fell hard. Can you tell?

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

You fell in love.

Anonymous said...

"Uncle Dog" says, " Right ON!" Glad I could break the kid in.

Deacon

Anonymous said...

awwwww right on ..a house is not a home until there is a dog in it.

apricoco said...

So so cute. Welcome back into the doggie world. =)

Sayre said...

After careful observation and looking at more breeds, we may be wrong on the catahoula (although it may still be possible). There is something very whippet-y about her and that could also account for the rather distinct coloring and pattern. I suppose that should she become ours, we could go the genetic testing route, but as she would be a family pet and not a show dog of any kind, that would be a waste. What we really care about is her nature - which is really very sweet.

Anonymous said...

I'm guessing shepherd and greyhound. Does she have an undercoat?
Mom

Anonymous said...

Can I come over and scratch her tummy? Or behind her ears until her back leg starts shaking? I love it when dogs do that.

Anonymous said...

What a total cutie! I am so happy for you, having a loving critter around is the best!