On Having a Dog
Jan. 25th, 2015 10:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sparkfrostI love dogs. I love cats, don't get me wrong. I grew up with cats, Palmer and I have two that we adore, i coerced a former coworker into adopting a stray cat that lived outside our apartment, I coo "hey kitty" at any cat that I see while going about my daily business, I will always have and love cats. (BTW, the coworker adores his cat, he's named Sirr Purrz and is the most spoiled Maine Coon to ever live.) But I've also always loved dogs. Since Palmer and I became serious we talked about getting a dog. But for a long time it just wasn't possible. I certainly couldn't fit one in my tiny apartment in Takoma Park, and we couldn't fit one (along with two cats) in our more spacious apartment in Silver Spring. We knew that once we bought a house, a dog would quickly follow. So when we closed in May, we immediately began talking about when we should get a dog. We wanted to give the cats time to get adjusted to their new home, so we said we'd wait until August.
And that's pretty much what we did. Early August we went out to the MoCo Adoption Center and filled out the paperwork for dog adoption. We met with an Adoption Counselor and went over our experience, other animals, and lifestyle. She recommended a dog at least 2 years old, previously owned, who was shown to be good with cats. After a disastrous attempt to pick one out on our own (she crossed off every dog we said we'd like to meet), she selected a few dogs for us to interact with. The other two were sweet, and Big Zeus was tempting, but Coco is the one that won our hearts. So we filled out more paperwork, got her scheduled to be fixed, and came back a few days later to bring her home.
She is a great dog. Not the best behaved - we're looking into obedience classes. But she is affectionate, energetic, and loves attention. She desperately wants to be friends with Goblin, and is slowly but surely succeeding. She makes sure that I get at least a mile walk every day, if not more. And she loves curling up next to us on the couch or bed and just snuggling. As I type she's curled up in her dog bed, snoring. ButI said a post would have pictures, so enough talking, am I right? Without further ado, Coco:
Coco is a boxer mix. We think she's got some pit in her, and also some sort of bird dog - she does the adorable paw-lift-point thing when she sees something interesting. She pulls too much on her leash, eats the cats' food, and has destroyed several pairs of loosely-guarded shoes. But she also snuggles next to us when we're on the couch, adores the cats (even if they don't feel the same yet), and is super friendly to every person she meets. Basically, she's a good dog.
One that needs training, but we're working on that.
And that's pretty much what we did. Early August we went out to the MoCo Adoption Center and filled out the paperwork for dog adoption. We met with an Adoption Counselor and went over our experience, other animals, and lifestyle. She recommended a dog at least 2 years old, previously owned, who was shown to be good with cats. After a disastrous attempt to pick one out on our own (she crossed off every dog we said we'd like to meet), she selected a few dogs for us to interact with. The other two were sweet, and Big Zeus was tempting, but Coco is the one that won our hearts. So we filled out more paperwork, got her scheduled to be fixed, and came back a few days later to bring her home.
She is a great dog. Not the best behaved - we're looking into obedience classes. But she is affectionate, energetic, and loves attention. She desperately wants to be friends with Goblin, and is slowly but surely succeeding. She makes sure that I get at least a mile walk every day, if not more. And she loves curling up next to us on the couch or bed and just snuggling. As I type she's curled up in her dog bed, snoring. ButI said a post would have pictures, so enough talking, am I right? Without further ado, Coco:
Coco is a boxer mix. We think she's got some pit in her, and also some sort of bird dog - she does the adorable paw-lift-point thing when she sees something interesting. She pulls too much on her leash, eats the cats' food, and has destroyed several pairs of loosely-guarded shoes. But she also snuggles next to us when we're on the couch, adores the cats (even if they don't feel the same yet), and is super friendly to every person she meets. Basically, she's a good dog.
One that needs training, but we're working on that.
