Sad News, Happy News
I had a very hard time posting about this, but we had to put EdGrr down over Labor Day weekend. He was almost 13. It was a very hard decision, but he was in a lot of pain. He'd developed severe arthritis in his hindquarters, and the inflammation was pressing on the nerves that told him he needed to potty. This led to a lot of incontinence issues. Ed was both a stoic little guy and an extremely optimistic one. This made the decision extra hard, because he exhibited so few of the usual signs of a dog in pain. Once we'd made the decision, it was a relief. Any nagging doubts were erased when the anesthesia hit. Ed relaxed and we both realized just how tense he'd been for the past several weeks. It was hard to say good-bye, but it was a responsibility we knew we'd have to fulfill some day.
We knew we were going to get another dog, and that it would be a rescue. We were planning to wait a bit and give ourselves a break. Then poor lthomas987 went to Petco to pick up some cat food. There was Homeward Bound Rescue, having an adoption day with over 40 dogs and at least 6 beagles. LT met several of them. Suddenly our timeline was picking up a bit.
After getting the carpets cleaned to make adjusting to the house and housetraining easier, we started going through the list of dogs. Because Homeward Bound places all their pets in foster homes, we had a great amount of information about all of them. Anyone who didn't handle cats well wasn't coming to live with us. While Her Supreme Majesty Shiva could certainly handle any of them, it seemed cruel to the dogs. Finally, I got it down to a short list. Fortunately, several dogs on that list were adopted before I could even get to an adoption day to meet them. Yesterday, I headed to the Burnsville Petco to meet some dogs and try to make a decision.
Stella, an adorable basset/beagle cross, had already been adopted. That left Forrest. Forrest is a very sweet, quiet little beagle. He'd come from an impound shelter in Henderson, KY, and he'd been in a foster home since May. Forrest's response to stress is to sleep in his crate, so he didn't usually get noticed at adoption days. When LT met him two weeks ago, she had literally half a dozen volunteers telling her how wonderful Forrest was. When I got there, three different volunteers helped get Forrest out of his crate because they were so thrilled that someone wanted to meet him.
Forrest and I headed outside to get to know each other. It was instant love. Despite my plan to wait until LT was back from Seattle, Forrest came home with me yesterday. He and Mort get along very well, although Mort is deeply frustrated that Forrest doesn't play with him RIGHT NOW. Shiva is cautious. They are taking looks at each other around corners and then backing off. There's been no growling or singing, which is a very good sign. Even better, Shiva has not yet attempted to give Forrest a concussion. Shiva is front declawed, but she can hit HARD.
We miss Ed dreadfully, but Forrest is a great little guy.
If I ever manage to figure out how to post pictures to LJ, I'll get them. Currently, you can see them at my Flickr page.
We knew we were going to get another dog, and that it would be a rescue. We were planning to wait a bit and give ourselves a break. Then poor lthomas987 went to Petco to pick up some cat food. There was Homeward Bound Rescue, having an adoption day with over 40 dogs and at least 6 beagles. LT met several of them. Suddenly our timeline was picking up a bit.
After getting the carpets cleaned to make adjusting to the house and housetraining easier, we started going through the list of dogs. Because Homeward Bound places all their pets in foster homes, we had a great amount of information about all of them. Anyone who didn't handle cats well wasn't coming to live with us. While Her Supreme Majesty Shiva could certainly handle any of them, it seemed cruel to the dogs. Finally, I got it down to a short list. Fortunately, several dogs on that list were adopted before I could even get to an adoption day to meet them. Yesterday, I headed to the Burnsville Petco to meet some dogs and try to make a decision.
Stella, an adorable basset/beagle cross, had already been adopted. That left Forrest. Forrest is a very sweet, quiet little beagle. He'd come from an impound shelter in Henderson, KY, and he'd been in a foster home since May. Forrest's response to stress is to sleep in his crate, so he didn't usually get noticed at adoption days. When LT met him two weeks ago, she had literally half a dozen volunteers telling her how wonderful Forrest was. When I got there, three different volunteers helped get Forrest out of his crate because they were so thrilled that someone wanted to meet him.
Forrest and I headed outside to get to know each other. It was instant love. Despite my plan to wait until LT was back from Seattle, Forrest came home with me yesterday. He and Mort get along very well, although Mort is deeply frustrated that Forrest doesn't play with him RIGHT NOW. Shiva is cautious. They are taking looks at each other around corners and then backing off. There's been no growling or singing, which is a very good sign. Even better, Shiva has not yet attempted to give Forrest a concussion. Shiva is front declawed, but she can hit HARD.
We miss Ed dreadfully, but Forrest is a great little guy.
If I ever manage to figure out how to post pictures to LJ, I'll get them. Currently, you can see them at my Flickr page.