Eva
It's been a few days now and I thought I'd give this significant update. I know I said before that I thought I would lose all desire for adopting a dog after our experience with the puppy. Well, that feeling actually didn't last all that long and my mom and I got back to searching for dogs again. We would go to the local shelter often, and the county shelter a couple times, but we weren't really having success in finding the right dog for us. Then a couple weeks ago we decided to go back to Petsmart for the adoption event held by the rescue group Amazing Dogs. They were the same rescue we had adopted the puppy from. Most of the dogs they have up for adoption are puppies, but there's sometimes a few adults too. We knew we had to go with an adult dog this time. So, they do their adoptions about every other Saturday at Petsmart.
So, we went there a couple weeks ago and discovered a year and four month old dog named Evergreen. She resembled a small German Shepherd, though her breed info said Manchester Terrier/Lab mix. She seemed so reserved with a sweet face. We asked to have her taken out of the crate so we could walk her around and see what she was like. She was so shy and had to be forced out. She wouldn't really move when we had her, and it took her some time before my mom got her comfortable to walk around, and then she got more lively and would even wag her tail. She'd jump up on us, but not in a hyper way. I think she was just interested in the treats we had. We brought her back, but we still weren't sure we were ready to adopt yet. However, my mom seemed to have turned her around. She seemed happier and more affectionate.
Fast forward to this past Saturday. We thought we'd visit the Amazing Dogs adoption event again, and lo and behold, Evergreen was there again! They have so many dogs, you never really know which dogs are going to be there and she was back! It felt kind of like fate. We decided to walk her around the pet store again, and then we made a decision. We were going to adopt her. Only this time we were going to do it right. We went through foster-to-adopt this time, which means if she didn't work out for us and we had to return her within four weeks, we'd get all of our money back. I don't know why that wasn't offered for the puppy. She had been fostered before in a couple of homes and we got to know more about her from one of the foster moms. She came from a hoarding situation sadly. We learned that she's completely potty trained and can hold her bladder for a long time, didn't need a crate, and was well behaved in the house, and we learned she became like a completely different dog over the past couple of weeks. All of these ticked the right boxes for me, so I felt more confident about our decision. We got a few supplies and took her home. She had no problem with getting in the car.
Of course the first couple of days had been an adjustment for her. There was some anxiousness of course, but she's quickly bonded with my mom and she loves me too. We decided to rename her Eva (pronounced Ee-vuh). Evergreen is just a weird name for a dog. However, there is one problem because she's scared of my dad. It may be a possible she has a fear of men. I don't know if she will get better in time and eventually get used to my dad or it will be something we have to work on, but it is kind of frustrating. Other than that, she's quite happy. She loves being outside and frolicking around. She kind of pounces and plays with seed pods that come from the spruce trees next door. She'll toss it in the air and catch it. It's very silly. She's also quite well behaved and pretty calm indoors. She has grabbed a sock on a few occasions though. Otherwise, she'll chill out on the couch or the floor. She's been a good dog and I'm pretty satisfied with our decision to adopt her. I can only hope the bond will grow and she'll eventually come to like my dad too.
As for her breed, I'm not 100% sure on what she is. I have my doubts about the Manchester Terrier/Lab mix. I also saw her listed online as being German Shepherd/Cattle Dog mix. When rescues or shelters give the breed of the dog, I doubt it's ever accurate unless it's super obvious. My best guess for her though is she's an Australian Kelpie mix (I only learned about that breed while searching for dogs). That's what reverse image searches and the dog identifier on my photos app on my phone tell me anyway. I don't know how accurate it is. She's likely some type of mutt. She's certainly exotic looking. Us and exotic dogs. Luke was unique too. Like I said she looks kind of like a mini German Shepherd with the black coat, beautiful brown eyes, but she also has tan and white around the legs, and white fur on her chest. Only a DNA test could tell us what she is. Either way I love her, and I'm glad we finally found a dog who seems to be a good fit for us.
So, we went there a couple weeks ago and discovered a year and four month old dog named Evergreen. She resembled a small German Shepherd, though her breed info said Manchester Terrier/Lab mix. She seemed so reserved with a sweet face. We asked to have her taken out of the crate so we could walk her around and see what she was like. She was so shy and had to be forced out. She wouldn't really move when we had her, and it took her some time before my mom got her comfortable to walk around, and then she got more lively and would even wag her tail. She'd jump up on us, but not in a hyper way. I think she was just interested in the treats we had. We brought her back, but we still weren't sure we were ready to adopt yet. However, my mom seemed to have turned her around. She seemed happier and more affectionate.
Fast forward to this past Saturday. We thought we'd visit the Amazing Dogs adoption event again, and lo and behold, Evergreen was there again! They have so many dogs, you never really know which dogs are going to be there and she was back! It felt kind of like fate. We decided to walk her around the pet store again, and then we made a decision. We were going to adopt her. Only this time we were going to do it right. We went through foster-to-adopt this time, which means if she didn't work out for us and we had to return her within four weeks, we'd get all of our money back. I don't know why that wasn't offered for the puppy. She had been fostered before in a couple of homes and we got to know more about her from one of the foster moms. She came from a hoarding situation sadly. We learned that she's completely potty trained and can hold her bladder for a long time, didn't need a crate, and was well behaved in the house, and we learned she became like a completely different dog over the past couple of weeks. All of these ticked the right boxes for me, so I felt more confident about our decision. We got a few supplies and took her home. She had no problem with getting in the car.
Of course the first couple of days had been an adjustment for her. There was some anxiousness of course, but she's quickly bonded with my mom and she loves me too. We decided to rename her Eva (pronounced Ee-vuh). Evergreen is just a weird name for a dog. However, there is one problem because she's scared of my dad. It may be a possible she has a fear of men. I don't know if she will get better in time and eventually get used to my dad or it will be something we have to work on, but it is kind of frustrating. Other than that, she's quite happy. She loves being outside and frolicking around. She kind of pounces and plays with seed pods that come from the spruce trees next door. She'll toss it in the air and catch it. It's very silly. She's also quite well behaved and pretty calm indoors. She has grabbed a sock on a few occasions though. Otherwise, she'll chill out on the couch or the floor. She's been a good dog and I'm pretty satisfied with our decision to adopt her. I can only hope the bond will grow and she'll eventually come to like my dad too.
As for her breed, I'm not 100% sure on what she is. I have my doubts about the Manchester Terrier/Lab mix. I also saw her listed online as being German Shepherd/Cattle Dog mix. When rescues or shelters give the breed of the dog, I doubt it's ever accurate unless it's super obvious. My best guess for her though is she's an Australian Kelpie mix (I only learned about that breed while searching for dogs). That's what reverse image searches and the dog identifier on my photos app on my phone tell me anyway. I don't know how accurate it is. She's likely some type of mutt. She's certainly exotic looking. Us and exotic dogs. Luke was unique too. Like I said she looks kind of like a mini German Shepherd with the black coat, beautiful brown eyes, but she also has tan and white around the legs, and white fur on her chest. Only a DNA test could tell us what she is. Either way I love her, and I'm glad we finally found a dog who seems to be a good fit for us.