Do you have room for another rescue animal?

[turbo]

It seems that we might get another rescue dog. The same woman (friend of my wife) who engineered our rescue and adoption of Duke is at it again. This time, the dog is a very young small-breed dog that the owner spent over $2K to buy and needs to be adopted because the owner must move. If she gets along fine with Duke, I'm OK with that. Even if she has bad habits, Duke is loving and is a good teacher. I can deal with that.

 

[turbo]

BTW, Duke would adopt a squirrel or chipmunk if he could, so any friction would not originate from his end. We have lots of voles around here (good, because they eat grubs!) and he will not molest them. He is interested, but not alarmed about what they do.

 

[turbo]

D-day is here (dog-day) and we have agreed to give the new dog a week-long break-in period to make sure she gets along with us and with Duke.

Duke has separation anxiety problems (since we rescued him as an abandoned stray) and hopefully a new dog-pal will ease that.

 

[turbo]

Lola is here. I'm having connection problems with my Lumix, so I'll have to dig out one of the Canons to get pictures.

 

[dlgoff]

Duke has separation anxiety problems (since we rescued him as an abandoned stray) and hopefully a new dog-pal will ease that.

I was thinking the opposite. You've mentioned in the past how Duke was "clingy" (understandable for where he came from). Might not he feel rejected again?

 

[turbo]

I was thinking the opposite. You've mentioned in the past how Duke was "clingy" (understandable for where he came from). Might not he feel rejected again?

He is very clingy, but it's because he was abandoned and spent ~5 months in a shelter. We hope that having a new dog-friend will reset his emotions and give him a new attitude toward being alone. He gets quite upset if I leave him in the house and try to get some work done outside. Maybe with Lola, he will have enough companionship to keep him happy when I'm not here.

 

[turbo]

http://i183.photobucket.com/albums/x318/turbo-1/P1000812_zpsfdcd5f93.jpg

Here is Lola. She is a sweetie, but at 18 months old, she has WAY too much energy.

 

[turbo]

Duke didn't want to share his deluxe ($$) dog-bed, so we built another one out of flannel sheets and pillowcases for Lola. Sure enough, Duke wanted to commandeer that one, too. It has been a very interesting day. Lola is very sweet and wants to hog my attention. She will sit on my feet so that I can't get up without her knowledge. That's the current situation.

 

[fluidistic]

Nice!
I hope Lola will adapt as well as Duke and that she will be part of your "family".

 

[turbo]

Nice!
I hope Lola will adapt as well as Duke and that she will be part of your "family".

Thanks, fluid. I can't go anywhere without her, much the same as the situation after we adopted Duke, but she was imprisoned in a cage in a cellar for most days by her previous owner. She needs to get some normalcy before she can get acclimated to regular life. I don't want to adopt dogs that have been subjected to deprivation, but that seems to be the norm. Duke is a sweetie, and I'm sure that his new "sister" will be as well. We just need time.

 

[turbo]

Night 2. Lola has decided that she can sleep in the living room on one of the two beds available instead of sleeping in the bedroom. She has also decided that I don't have to be "shadowed" everywhere, which is nice. The first day, she needed to go everywhere I did. Now, I can come and go without a velcro dog. I think we have a "normal" dog here.

My younger sister (~60) visited yesterday and fell in love with Lola. My father (87) visited in the afternoon and he was smitten by her, too. She is a keeper, and the most adoptable dog I have ever met. Duke can be noisy and fussy when he is left alone, but when knew that when we adopted him. Lola has settled right in with no such behaviors. Sometimes, you get lucky.

 

[Evo]

That's great turbo. How are Duke and Lola getting along?

 

[turbo]

That's great turbo. How are Duke and Lola getting along?

They are fine after one day. She wants to sleep with him, though he wants his space. In fact, she will try to sit on him no matter where he is lying. He no longer snarls at her when she crowds him so that's a good development, though he acts exasperated and moves to another place. He is a very patient dog, so he can put up with the pup.

I took her to visit some neighbors this afternoon, and she was great. The little grand-daughters loved her. She is impossible not to love - sweet and very pretty. She is hard for me to walk, though. Very strong, and my sprained right hand makes it tougher. She is pretty good while walking, except for minor distractions (Squirrel!) that take her off-track. Lola is a keeper.

 

[turbo]

Do you have the room and resources to rescue an abandoned dog or cat? It has been very enriching for us. Animals need attention and they will give you love in return.