meet lucy. an unwaveringly happy, bouncy and fun 30-pound dog. i adopted her from The Humane Society of Boulder Valley when she was about one.
i had wanted a dog for some time and decided to justify it with a "security" bent: a dog would alert me to any intruding that might be afoot.
with that in mind, i began trolling the humane society web site. i had decided a puppy would be the perfect thing. since most people feel the same way, it can be hard to come by one. then, one day two little black fur babies appeared online and i was off like a flash. alas, by the time i had made it, both had found new homes. disappointed, i decided to say hi to my great friend sarah, who at that time was the shelter's volunteer coordinator.
as we were talking, she politely wondered if i might consider an older dog. (at least one of us had her wits about her.) oh, and by the way, the puppies' mum was in the back recovering from her no-more-babies surgery. would i like to meet her?
two minutes later, in bounced a little black one-of-a-kind doggie. in spite of a birthing two puppies, a long trip from Nebraska and stitches in her belly, her outlook on life was entirely sunshine and roses.
she sat on my foot and that was pretty much it. adoration at first sight. (for propriety's sake i took her for a little test-walk, but the deal was already made.)
thank you, Sarah. i immediately appreciated the benefits of adopting an older animal: already house trained. that was huge. she had a few other skills: sit, down, sit up, although not necessarily on the proper command.
that has pretty much been the status quo since i got her.
i guess in some ways, we had inadvertently trained one another. she grocks what i mean when i say "no." but "come" can be a little - er - random.
lately, i have been hoping we could tighten things up a bit. most importantly, i'd like a consistent response to the "come" command. so last night i started a new book.
so far, i like these guys. imagine! a spiritual approach to dog training. check this out:
they seem to have me pegged. we shall see if an old dog (me) and a happy-go-lucky lucy can learn a thing or two.
i had wanted a dog for some time and decided to justify it with a "security" bent: a dog would alert me to any intruding that might be afoot.
with that in mind, i began trolling the humane society web site. i had decided a puppy would be the perfect thing. since most people feel the same way, it can be hard to come by one. then, one day two little black fur babies appeared online and i was off like a flash. alas, by the time i had made it, both had found new homes. disappointed, i decided to say hi to my great friend sarah, who at that time was the shelter's volunteer coordinator.
as we were talking, she politely wondered if i might consider an older dog. (at least one of us had her wits about her.) oh, and by the way, the puppies' mum was in the back recovering from her no-more-babies surgery. would i like to meet her?
two minutes later, in bounced a little black one-of-a-kind doggie. in spite of a birthing two puppies, a long trip from Nebraska and stitches in her belly, her outlook on life was entirely sunshine and roses.
she sat on my foot and that was pretty much it. adoration at first sight. (for propriety's sake i took her for a little test-walk, but the deal was already made.)
thank you, Sarah. i immediately appreciated the benefits of adopting an older animal: already house trained. that was huge. she had a few other skills: sit, down, sit up, although not necessarily on the proper command.
that has pretty much been the status quo since i got her.
i guess in some ways, we had inadvertently trained one another. she grocks what i mean when i say "no." but "come" can be a little - er - random.
lately, i have been hoping we could tighten things up a bit. most importantly, i'd like a consistent response to the "come" command. so last night i started a new book.
so far, i like these guys. imagine! a spiritual approach to dog training. check this out:
they seem to have me pegged. we shall see if an old dog (me) and a happy-go-lucky lucy can learn a thing or two.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thanks for commenting. Also visit www.danarogersphotography.com.