Welcome, Piper!

Today was not a normal Sunday.  Weber is still suffering with Shingles and its accompanying tiredness so we did not go to church at 9 this morning.  We also did not have our regular Sunday brunch get together because so many had conflicting schedules today.  That left Weber and me to our own devices this afternoon.  

We had a late and leisurely, let's just say, meal about 1:30.  Though we had breakfast food, it was too late to even qualify as brunch, I think.  As long as we were out, we decided to go to Petsmart to gets some glucosamine for Adidas, a quick in and out.

As usual, right inside the door, there was a local rescue group with dogs and cats that needed forever homes.  Though I have a soft heart, I also have a realistic mind.  I usually glance over at the animals, comment on their cuteness, express my hope that they find loving families, and go along my way.  Again, today was different.  As soon as I walked in the door, my eyes met her eyes.

Resting on a hot pink pillow was this little "fringy" looking dog.  Something about her drew me to her.  As soon as we approached her crate, she came quickly to the front, all five pounds of her wiggling frantically.  The rescue society person said that she must like us because the puppy had been a little reserved thus far.  Someone who is trying to sell you a dress or a car will say just about anything to get you to buy; that is not the case for people looking to find homes for animals.  They are protective and want to make sure that the dogs and cats go to a home that best suits the needs of the animals and the humans.  I asked the basic questions such as age, gender, and probable breed.  I don't know why it mattered; we weren't  in the market for a puppy.  She is a four to five month old probably Jack Russell mix.  Throughout this conversation the wiggles continued and the pawing at the crate door to be let out.  The rescue volunteer asked if we  wanted to hold her.  Yeah, we all know that was a mistake:-). As we were holding her and having one of those ridiculous human-puppy conversations, we heard her story.

The rescue volunteer found this puppy at a Fort Worth shelter.  The volunteer was there to pick up a cat, and, like us, was drawn in by this sweet little face.  I'm not sure how the dog ended up at the shelter in the first place, but we did find out that she had been adopted once, kept for three days, and returned because of allergies in the adoptive family.  When the volunteer got the dog home, she noticed a problem with her back left leg and immediately took her to the vet.  X-rays revealed that this poor little pup's leg had been broken in three spots probably because she had been stepped on.  The treatment options were amputate the leg, perform very expensive surgery that may or may not help, or wait to see how it healed.  The later was chosen.

The odd thing is that based on the x-rays, the injury looked old enough that it occurred before the puppy was initially adopted from the Ft. Worth shelter, and no one seems to have noticed it.  Neither did the family that returned her mention any problems with her leg.  The more I heard about this little girl, the more I felt a connection to her.

Weber and I talked about the reality of a third dog.  We knew there would be no problem with Adidas, our black lab; he is so easy-going.  We were, however, a little  worried about Harley, our terrier mix, because she can be kind of bossy and possessive.  The Petsmart trainer suggested that we bring Harley to the store for a meet and greet.  So, we did.  Harley is only a "big girl" on her own turf.  She is definitely a home body and was fairly nervous out in the world.  She basically ignored the puppy despite the fact that the puppy was trying to get her to play.  That was actually a good sign.  At least she showed no signs of aggression.  

Weber and I and the two dogs sat in the training room together for 30-45 minutes and finally decided that the puppy was meant to be part of our family.  Thus, we had some shopping to do.  We needed a new crate, puppy food, bowls, puppy toys, and of course a Halloween sweater!

Once we paid all of our debts at Petsmart we headed home for the big meet and greet...all three dogs.  It went remarkably well.  They all ran around in the yard together.  

The puppy sometimes uses, sometimes drags, and sometimes lifts her injured leg.  It doesn't slow her down and does not appear to cause her any pain.  Adidas and Harley are still trying to figure out how all this is going to work.  They were quite disappointed that they got their senior fare rather than puppy food for dinner.  Frankie, the cat, is not amused.  Though the puppy has been in a foster home with cats and only looked at Frankie, Frankie has been in hiding in an undisclosed location since we got home.  After about an hour of checking out her new surroundings, the puppy has been sound asleep in someone's lap all evening, but the cat is not convinced that it is safe to come out.  Things will shake down over time.

So, her name...the puppy came with the name Kandy.  Her  name had no particular significance.  The rescue worker gave her that name when she took her to the vet the first time.  At that point the puppy had no name and needed one for her records.  There was a candy bowl sitting on the counter, so that was the name she was given.  Weber, Brooke, and I all agreed that a new name was needed.  Brooke said that Kandy with a "K" sounded like a hooker name.  

We tossed around several different possibilities and I finally settled on Piper, which had also been one of the contenders when little then four pound Harley joined our family.

I am not even going to try to understand the universe on this one.  We have never considered another dog.  I generally have more than enough self-control when it comes to padding by animal adoption sites, and I have always preferred big dogs.  Harley, who about 26 pounds is the smallest dog I have ever had.  Piper probably will only grow to be about 15 pounds.  She is about 5 or 6 now.

I think we need to stick to the normal Sunday routine for awhile - early church, brunch, and an afternoon nap.  No shopping!

I will post some better pictures once there is less wiggling!