Saturday, February 13, 2016

A Dog's Life

Yesterday, I took a "mental health" day at work and wanted to do some things that I don't ordinarily get time to do anymore. I spent a quiet morning reading and walking the dogs, had lunch with a friend and later, I pulled out my camera and took some pictures of the dogs.

We've had Princess for almost three years now. We adopted her at one of Jacksonville's mega-adoption events (about a thousand animals in the fairgrounds, hoping to get adopted in a highly advertised weekend). We almost left, but went back for one more look at the one dog in the whole place who was sleeping in her cage. They took her out of the cage so we could have a look and she was so sweet and laid-back, we all fell in love with her right then and there.

She had obviously had a litter of puppies recently and was being treated for heartworms and kennel cough. What a little sickie she was, but she was bright -eyed and had a happy tail wag for us, so we paid our twenty bucks for this spayed and chipped little girl.

Her name was Widget because, the people at the shelter explained, when she came in her name was "Patches," but she didn't have any patches. Not liking either of those names, we took a few days to decide what to call her. She didn't seem to respond strongly to Patches or Widget, but it soon became apparent that she was truly a "Princess." She's been the love of our lives ever since. The best dog anyone could ever have.

I'm not exactly sure how I ended up browsing the dog adoption sites a couple of months ago, but I stumbled on a dog who was the spitting image of our Princess. His name is Rugby and he was being cared for by a rescue organization in Putnam county, called Their Lives, Our Voices. It just happened that they were bringing some dogs to the Old Navy store in Orange Park just across the river that very day, so I hustled over to see him. He was smaller than Princess, but in almost every other way, just as beautiful. It took us a few weeks to get him due to the holidays and our vacation, but finally, we were able to have a meet and greet with Princess to see if the two dogs would be compatible. They sniffed a little and both dogs seemed more interested in everything else than in each other. We all talked about it and decided we wanted Rugby to be part of our family.



Here's what the owner of TLOV had to say when after we took him home:

Oh Rugby.... 
Rugby was challenging to show at adoption events, he just didn't show well at all. We original thought he wouldn't do well with other canines, and small children were not his favorite.  
Turns out he just need a little time and rescue Schnauzer had to help him to overcome that silliness of acting like he didn't need or want any friends. I decided to pair the little Schnauzer and Rugby together, turns out that's what he needed, she just wouldn't give up. "You are going to like me!" Rugby finally gave in and he tolerated her at first then eventually they became friends. 
Rugby is a particular one, there was no rhyme or reason why he either liked or didn't like anyone or any other canine. He always had us guessing...Turns out he just need a little time and rescue Schnauzer had to help him to overcome that silliness of acting like he didn't need or want any friends. I decided to pair the little Schnauzer and Rugby together, turns out that's what he needed, she just wouldn't give up. "You are going to like me!" Rugby finally gave in and he tolerated her at first then eventually they became friends. 
Rugby is a particular one, there was no rhyme or reason why he either liked or didn't like anyone or any other canine. He always had us guessing...It was heartwarming to see how he reacted to the rest of the Whipple family today. You would have thought he knew them very well, and for Princess his new canine family member which happens to look exactly, and I mean exactly like Rugby. Not only did they look alike but their behavior is the exactly the same. The only difference is Princess is a little bigger in size, and Rugby acted as if he knew her too...amazing. 
I believe this is the family he was waiting for, he knew they were out there.
Thank you Inez for looking past his nonsense and seeing the goodness in his heart. Thank you for choosing to adopt!

The first few weeks were a little nerve wracking. Rugby was nervous and seemed scared every time Princess moved. Of course, Princess just wanted to play with him and couldn't understand all his growling and teeth baring. I kept them in separate rooms when we were away because I couldn't trust them together, but eventually, they warmed up and are really coming to be good friends. There's still some jostling for the position of dominance and I honestly can't say, at this point, who is gaining in that department, but life is relatively quiet and we have two beautiful dogs.

Yesterday, we got the new bed I had ordered for Rugby. It's a cave bed and I thought since he loves to tunnel into the covers, he would love this bed. So far, he's ignored it and resisted my attempts to get him to curl up inside, but Princess got it right away. While I was taking pictures of her, Rugby was busy keep watch outside on the balcony.

Now, here are the pictures:


Princess (AKA Pookums, Doggos)

















Rugby (AKA Rugger bugger, Squirt)
















I hope you enjoyed these as much as I enjoyed taking them. Hopefully soon, I'll get some pictures of the two of them together!


Update: 2/27/2016

This afternoon I found them lounging together in the sun on the balcony AND they let me take a picture! Actually, this morning they were laying side-by-side on the bed which is the closest I've ever seen them together :)