When I saw Melony's post Link something spoke to me. We had just lost Lily a few days before, and I was (and still am) mourning her loss. I've lost other pets (and my father) before, but Lily's loss is different. It's different because although I'm so sad and miss her so much, there is a large part of me that is so grateful just to have known her. That I was able to share my life with such an amazing soul. And that feeling makes the sadness less at times. It's difficult to explain.
Anyway, I saw this post, and showed my husband (who is absolutely DEVASTATED at the loss of Lily), and he said, "It's like it's a sign. Lily never got to be a senior. Tell her we'll take two." TWO? Are you nuts?
We had wanted a female to balance out our pack (male JRT and male lab), but Melony said all the girls were spoken for. There WAS, however, a female shepherd mix, 12 years old. I said we could take her and one of the CALM males. She matched us up with Sockem, a fawn male. Plans were made; Melony was bringing them up in a hauler to the east coast on Saturday the 28th, and I could pick them up at the GFNJ kennel on Sunday morning.
Nervous, nervous, nervous. It's a two hour drive from my house to the kennel. I was working on 3 hours' sleep (I'm a restaurant manager and had closed the night before). What the HELL had I gotten myself into?
I got to the kennel, I picked them up. Met a real GT "celebrity," Phillypups! It was so great to meet you, Pat!
Shelby is adorable, Sockem is GORGEOUS. Lovable, calm. Perfect.
Stopped by my sister's house to pick her up to help with introductions (DH had plans that day that had been set in stone for months, and would be home later that day). Initial introductions with Birdie (JRT) are ALWAYS difficult. Repeat--what the heck am I getting myself into? Sometimes I think it's a good thing we have him, otherwise I'd have a house full of dogs. Hmmm, some people might argue that four IS a house full of dogs, but... I digresss....
Birdie was a jerk, as usual. Not with Sockem, surprisingly, but with Shelby. He acted as if Sockem had always lived here. We were shocked.
Shelby has flea dermatitis and two infected ears. Before I had picked them up I had made a vet appt. for Wednesday, but when we saw how uncomfortable she was, called the vet first thing Monday morning, and they fit them both in. They gave her a cortisone shot, she's on 2 antibiotics, and enzymatic drops for her ears. Because of the cortisone shot, she has to go back in two weeks for vaccinations. Sockem got all his shots, and I want to schedule a dental for both of them--both their mouths are pretty bad.
Sockem. Sockem is gorgeous. He looks like a skinny polar bear. He reminds me of a ghost. He has Cleopatra eyeliner, it goes over his fawn eyelashes. He is SO furry, he has the thickest, softest coat, he even has a super fuzzy butt! We looked in his ears, turns out he is Kass Sockem. His birthday is July 11, 2003. What would have been my father's 68th birthday. My father died July 6, 2003. Sockem was born the day after we buried my father. I kept saying he was like a ghost. Hmmm.....
Things are getting easier every day with Birdie. He still growls at Shelby every once in awhile, so we are keeping her crated when we aren't home.
Thank you, Melony, for just being plain awesome for doing what you do, thank you GFNJ for kenneling these pups overnight while having pretty much NO info on them.
Okay, I'll stop boring you and post a few pictures. I still need more photos, but I know the rules.....
Sockem resting his head on DH's shoulder.
Shelby relaxing on the couch.
I'm pretty sure we need a bigger couch......
