Friday, June 3, 2011

It's a Dog's Life: The Opening Chapter

Meet Millie.

She's the newest addition to the County Line menagerie.

We picked her up at the Hutchinson Animal Shelter yesterday. Who knew it would be so complicated - and expensive - to rescue a dog?

Randy has delighted at telling people we are adopting. He thinks he's pretty funny. And I will admit, a few of our friends did double takes when he first announced our intentions to adopt. I may have rolled my eyes a time or two after the 10th time I heard it.

We have been thinking about adding another dog at the County Line. Brent's dog Ralph is at least 10 years old.

We finally quit talking and did something about it when Brent was home for a visit. He helped us look and did his share of dog petting at the Animal Shelter. But he told us it was our decision.

Here she was May 20. Who could resist that face? At that time, she was known as Prudence. We decided she looked more like a Millie to us.

Even though it's nothing like adopting a child, there is some pressure. When you walk down the hall of pens at the Humane Society, the cacophony of sound is overwhelming.

"Pick me! Pick me!" they all seem to say.

It was easy to say no to a few. Those who growled at us were immediately eliminated. The pit bull mixes were a no-go. The incessant barkers were crossed off the list. The St. Bernard puppy was cute, but he would have eventually eaten us out of house and home. Brent & I liked the golden Lab. Randy vetoed it because of our experience with a golden Lab named Sandy who liked to roam. We don't really know what happened to Sandy.

Millie is a Chow/Shepherd mix. She's a little over 2 months old. We picked her out 2 weeks ago and finally jumped through the last hoop to bring her home yesterday. Just like a baby, we thought she'd already changed in the two weeks since we first met her.

I was relieved to find out that her sister had already left the shelter. Now we're not the ones responsible for breaking up the family. Millie has a new family. I'm not sure either of them knows what to think about that.

Ralph has been put in charge of training Millie to be a farm dog. Brent's dog Mindy did the same for Ralph years ago.

At least the doghouse is finally getting some use. Ralph has always refused to enter it. Millie has already made herself at home.

To qualify for adoption, we had to:
  • Have Ralph's and Big Cat's vaccinations up to date ... $200 later, they are.
  • Pay $100 for vaccinations and spaying for Milly.
  • Pay $26.45 for a collar and assorted puppy necessities.
Having a new dog: Priceless?

Well, that remains to be seen. But she is awfully cute.

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