We Are Smitten

So, as most of you may know, I love dogs. Joey loves dogs. Jason loves dogs. Matthew & Emily even like dogs, if they have time to get used to them first. But I didn't think one would say they "loved" dogs until this weekend...*sigh*

Friday night, we went out to dinner with the family and then to the grocery store to buy stuff for our 4th of July party. When we got home, a lost/stray poodle mix was across the street and ran over to greet us. At first, we tried to ignore her because we didn't want her to think we were going to feed her or anything, but she kept coming over to us and at one time, she jumped into the back of our minivan while we were unloading the groceries! She followed us all into our apartment, despite our objections, and so after a quick talk, we decided we'd keep her until we found her owner, if she had one.

Well, since it was so late at night, I knew all the shelters and everything would be closed. I posted a "found dog" ad on Craigslist and found an emergency vet clinic that would be open the next day, even though it was a holiday. We wanted to see if she had a microchip or anything (she didn't have a collar or tags). So, Saturday morning, we trekked out to the vet and had her scanned, but no luck. No microchip...however, as we were pulling into the parking lot, I checked my email on my phone, and someone had contacted me via Craigslist. They described the dog to the tee, and explained how she had gotten out. And as it turns out, the owners live just down the street and one of them works across the street, which is why the dog was over there when we found her--she was looking for her owner.

So, after the kids finished crying (sad face), we took her back home and waited for the owner to come pick her up. They had some time to say goodbye and the reunion was bittersweet. A few hours later, I was messing around in the kitchen and caught myself looking out for where I put my feet and realized that I missed the dog! I talked to Jason and we decided that we all needed a dog now. It was the right time.

We immediately started looking for a dog. After taking an online quiz to find out what breed would work best for our family and lifestyle, we looked online at http://www.petfinder.com/ and described the type of dog we wanted. We found a few we were interested in, so we emailed and called a few shelters. On Sunday, we took a trip down to the pound and looked at the dogs there. Unfortunatley, they mostly had chihuahua mixes, and I've heard they are not too friendly with children. We wanted a small dog, but not a toy dog, because with kids, we wanted a dog that was "sturdy" and not too fragile. We went over to a pet store where they had an adoption event going on and there were only 2 small dogs left, and one of them was "unstable" because he had a history of abuse, and the other one had too long of hair and shed too much.

So, out of the 3 shelters I had contacted online, only one got back to us (still now, 3 days later, the other 2 never got back to us, so it's not just that I was being impatient...haha!). Bichons & Buddies specializes in the rescue of small dogs, and they really want to make sure the dogs go to safe homes, so I had to fill out an online application. We took the kids to Disneyland on Sunday night to watch the fireworks and Fantasmic, and while we were there, I was emailing back and forth with the person in charge of the shelter. She said we were approved and out of all the dogs they had, she knew of 2 we could choose from that she said would fit our profile: small, little to no shedding, quiet, good with children, preferrably female, affectionate, housetrained, slightly older so as not to chew on everything in sight...we weren't picky at all, right? ROFL

We set up an appointment to meet the next day at 10am, so the kids and I drove out to L.A. to meet the 2 possibilities: Gulliver and Jessica. Gulliver was a cute little boy dog, but he didn't show any interest in us. We took him for a walk, and he whined the whole time and looked nervous. When we went to a grassy area and just stood next to him, he was more interested in the bushes than getting our attention. I squatted down to his level and he didn't want to come even when I called to him. So, we took him back to the clinic and asked to meet Jessica.

Jessica came out a little more excited, because she had just came in from playing with the other doggies, and that scared Emily a little bit. She didn't want to go with us to walk to the dog, but I couldn't leave her alone in the clinic either, so I made her come. She walked behind us and cried the whole time...not really a great first impression! But the boys loved her, and they walked her this time. They took turns and when we went over to the same grassy area, she was trying to get our attention inbetween checking out the bushes and using the potty. When I got down at her level, she came right over and rolled over, exposing her belly to me. I praised her and petted her and she just loved it! We went back to the clinic, and as I took her and the kids inside, Emily decided to calm down and try petting her...and she was hooked! Within minutes we were sitting down with Jessica on the bench and Emily was hugging her neck, kissing her and begging me to bring her home with us! LOL

While we were talking it over with the rescue lady, Jessica made herself at home in between Emily & I on the bench and the boys were standing next to us, petting her. She was very calm and enjoyed the affection. I had a very good feeling about this dog, and we decided to adopt her right then. She fit all of our requests, and she was just darn adorable!!

The only "problem", if you could call it that...was the fact that her name was Jessica. My sister's name is Jessyca...and I just couldn't have a dog named after my sister. LOL I think Jessyca would kill me if I did! So, I asked if we could change her name, and she said, of course! So, we spent the day thinking of names and we finally decided on Abby. She is 3 years old, and is a Bichon/Cocker Spaniel mix according to the shelter (which I just found out is called a Cock-a-Chon LOL).

She has adjusted very well to her new home! She slept on the ottoman last night and didn't move the whole night. Her mannerisms are like she has always been here. =) We love her so much already!

Here's a couple of pictures that I took yesterday: