Our Gotcha Stories!

This is going to be a long post. Shingo came to the family after our brother, Slate, went to the Rainbow Bridge. Unfortunately six weeks later, another one of our brothers, Bear, suddenly and unexpectedly went to the Bridge. Molly became part of the family after that loss.

Fortunately, Moms already had her own blog going, so she chronicled the whole thing. She'll be copying her posts about Shingo and Molly's gotcha's here:

Shingo's Story (as told by Moms):
Pt.1 - Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Should or Shouldn't I?
I'm only into my second week without Slate. Last week, I promised myself that I would take my time to heal. I wouldn't rush out and get a "replacement" dog to fill my emptiness; one would find me in good time. Then I received a picture of a tiny dachshund mix named Digger yesterday to post at my newspaper blog. His picture spoke to me and is still speaking today. He's on borrowed time at the county animal control facility. I've e-mailed my friend that works down there with several of questions. Now I have to decide if I should go meet him. What do you guys think? Should or shouldn't I?????


Digger

Pt. 2 - Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Taking the Plunge
Well, we've decided to go and meet Digger. I really do appreciate all of the encouraging comments! I got most of his details yesterday. He weighs just under 10 lbs. So far, he's very friendly to other dogs and cats. I just hope he's as nice as his picture is. Today's meeting is only preliminary with me and Casey. If everything goes well, I'll take Bear down to meet him. Casey and I have to be at a 6:00 p.m. meeting tonight, so we are just heading straight home after work. I'll give you all the details tomorrow. Cross your fingers......

Pt. 3 - Thursday, September 13, 2007
The Meeting
I didn't think the day would ever end yesterday! By 3:00 p.m., I was so excited. We had told the office that we would be there to meet Digger between 4:30 and 5:00 p.m. They have recently added a really nice adoption room, so you can be alone and get to know the dog. They brought Digger in, and let me tell you, he's as cute as a little button!! He's a little younger than we had originally thought. He's between 6 and 8 months. He's a dachshund/chihuahua mix and weighs just under 10 lbs. He's got such a nice personality. Of course he went bonkers at first playing, because he had been in his kennel all day. He likes toys and plays a rough little game of fetch. He would let us roll him over and rub his belly, so he doesn't seem to have any dominance issues. He also likes to cuddle!! I somehow got the details wrong, because he isn't neutered yet. We spent nearly an hour getting to know him, and YES, we are going to take him. He's still there right now, while we work out neutering arrangements and the best time to get him. I wanted to make sure he was neutered, before we bring him home. I want to avoid any issues with Bear. I'm going to go back down tomorrow afternoon and visit him. I'm SO excited. Now Casey and I have to decide, if we want to keep his name or give him a new one. I like those kinds of decisions!

Pt. 4 -Friday, September 14, 2007
View 2
I just realized that I have a second shot of Digger. So here he is:



Pt. 5 - Saturday, September 15, 2007
Coming Home!!!
Digger is coming home first thing tomorrow morning. I'm taking a long weekend to make sure things go well with the other dogs. I'll be back Wednesday with LOADS of pictures, I'm sure. I'M SO EXCITED!!!


Pt. 6 - Thursday, September 20, 2007
New Family Member
I went and picked Digger up on Sunday morning. He is such a happy little thing! I had taken the crate with me, but he's such a good little rider that I didn't even need it. Mom rode with me to be an extra set of hands, and he just settled down in her lap like a little gentleman. Even though I had been told he wasn't leash trained, he did really well with his harness. He walked around like he was old school or something. I let him wander about and inspect the yard, before I took him in to meet the "herd", as we like to call it. When he was ready, we headed in. He walked in just like he had lived there for years. He was great meeting Shiloh, Bear, Fergie, and Trixie (the spare dog). No one raised their tail in dominance or was agressive at all. Everyone was very welcoming to the new tenant. It has been painfully quiet at my house, since Slate passed away. When Digger came home, my house came back to life! Within twenty minutes, he and Bear were best buddies and were playing. Even Shiloh, who never plays, played with him. Fergie served as referee to break up the ruckus, when it got out of hand. So all of my worries were quite unfounded. Digger spent the day learning his new environment. He didn't offer to pester the cats at all. If he bothers them now, he only wants to play. He's all puppy and on the go all day long. At night, he starts to unwind and relax. He's very respectful of our sleep time and either amuses himself with a toy or sleeps himself. Even though he's like a little bullet, if I pick him up, he's very calm and still. He's a quick learner too! I've already taught him to sit and to sit up for a treat! He takes corrections really well. I just hope he's as quick to housebreak. It will probably take several months, since he's only six months old. Patience. Yesterday, he made his first visit to Dr. K. He had all of his vaccinations and was neutered. It didn't stop him for a minute. They said to keep him quiet for the next 10 days. Yeah, right. I'm just trying to watch him to make sure everything's o.k. That's about the best I can do. There's no slowing him down. Dr. K gave him a good once over, mostly for my own piece of mind, and he's completely healthy!! YAY! He's at home, unsupervised for the day for the very first time. Mom is going to look in on him, but other than that, he's into the normal routine. I tried to puppy proof the house, but we'll see. He's not really a chewer upper. He just likes to pick things up and run around with them in his mouth. I may have a different opinion on that tomorrow though. So far, so good. Everything's just peachy keen, and I'm totally happy with my decision to bring him home. I have new pictures and even a video. In my hurry to get the pet day stuff this morning, I left it at home by mistake. I'll have them tomorrow. Now, if I can just decide on a name. Casey likes Shingo the Dingo. I'm voting for Hopper or Murphy. Which do you guys like?

Molly's Story:
Pt. 1 - Saturday, December 08, 2007
Christmas-ey Weekend
We are also trying an experiment this weekend. I don't want to say much about it, until I find out if it's going to work. I really want it to though, so everyone cross their fingers for us. I'll keep you guys up to date.... Everyone have a terrific weekend!


Pt. 2 - Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Wonderful Weekend!
Casey and I had a FANTASTIC, busy weekend! Sunday was busy with the Christmas baking. Casey made sausage balls, cheddar cheese crispies, peanut butter cookies, and chocolate chip cookies all from scratch for our gift baskets. We decided to wait and save the sugar cookies for my students at work. We'll be making those tonight. While Casey was busy baking, I cleaned the rest of the house up.

Around lunch time, we prepared for the little experiment that I hinted at on Saturday. Shingo is now nine months old. He's right at that age, where he's all play all the time. He requires less sleep now. Last week, he kept waking us up at 3 a.m. wanting to play. Needless to say, Casey and I were really tired all last week. On Friday, after a particularly bad night previously, Casey suggested that we might try a playmate for Shingo. It just so happened that we had another dachshund mix at the humane shelter that is 1 year old. She's already spayed and housebroken. She lookes so much like Shingo, and they are nearly the same exact size. I called my humane lady on Saturday and asked if we could come and get her for a play date on Sunday. She said of course, so we were all set. Her name at the shelter is Molly. At first she was a little shy, but after about an hour she started to relax. A little while after that, she and Shingo started to play. They haven't stopped playing yet. It's so funny to watch them play. They look like they are having the best time! Shingo usually can take down my big dog, Fergie, so it's really funny that Molly rules him. I think that we've found the perfect match. She and Shingo are best buddies now and even sleep together. As you all can probably guess, we never took Molly back to the shelter. She's ours now, and we're SO happy to have her. All of the dogs just love her, and we do too! We might change her name. We are thinking of naming her Buttercup (as in Princess Buttercup from the Princess Bride), but she really knows her name, so we don't know how successful we'll be. But for now, here's Molly:





That's all I have of her right now, because we lost the battery to our digital camera. I've got several on my cell phone, and I'm trying to get them transferred.

Pt. 3 - Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Report: Day 3
Things are still just going swimmingly with Miss Molly/Princess Buttercup. Everyone, Casey and me included, are sleeping well at night. The housebreaking is going well. She's just no trouble at all, and she keeps her brother, Shingo, out of trouble too! I couldn't have asked for a better addition to our home. Now, if I can just get some pictures made!

Indiana's Story:

Moms didn't do a day by day chronicle of my story. I was thrown out of a moving car in front of our house, when I was 5 weeks old (That happens a lot, since folks know Moms and Dad do rescue work). I was barely weaned, and couldn't hardly eat puppy chow. Moms had to wet it down. My little toenails were still soft, and my belly and paw pads were all baby pink. The reason Mom's didn't chronicle my coming, is because she thought someone would surely look for me. She waited and searched for nearly 3 months, before she decided she wouldn't give me back anyway!! BOL!! I did a grrrreat job making her get attached to me! When I first came to live with Moms and Dad, I was so little that I could walk right underneath Molly's belly! Molly and Shingo used to roll me around like I was a ball!!! It wasn't too bad, since I liked it there so much. I've been home ever since! Here's one my baby pictures, when I was about 9 weeks old:


In this one, you can see how tiny I was compared to Molly!


I started snuggling early on!


And there you have it furiends, our Gotcha stories!

Happy Thanksgiving efurone!!