# Brought a new rescue home today!



## SmolPupperino (Apr 1, 2017)

In October I rescued my beagle mix Sherwood from a local shelter, and it was such a wonderful experience and he's such a good boy that I decided that I would like to do it again. I already have another dog, a stray that I found 6 years ago that I named Smokey, and so I decided that a small third dog would be best, since it'd be just me taking care of them. I'd been keeping an eye on the adoptable pets from all the local shelters, and last week a tiny little 7 year old female Chihuahua was available for adoption.

I went to meet her and found out that she was very underweight, had one eye that is recessed and smaller than the other (but apparently is healthy), hadn't been spayed until she got to the shelter, and was heartworm positive. She was house broken though, which is great. Her previous owners had given her up because they said they were moving to a new place and couldn't have dogs. Her description said she was very shy and anxious and didn't seem interested in other dogs and might like to be an only dog. When I met her she did seem anxious, which is very understandable given the environment, but she warmed up after a little bit and showed me hints of her true character. 

Well, I took her home today, and the second she set food on the other side of the shelter doors it was like a whole new pup! The tail was up, the stance was confident, and she went and greeted a dog on the other side of the fence as if to say "I'm outta here!" We went to the pet store to pick out some treats, and she happily greeted everyone, human and canine alike, and boldly tried to play with a huge mastiff. I let my dogs meet her in a neutral outdoor setting near my house, and everyone got along well! Smokey was a little wary, but within a minute she was chasing Sherwood around (which I had to curb because of her heartworm treatment) and licking his nose. She came from the same shelter as Sherwood and I wonder if he recognized the smells - it's hard to describe but from the second he met her he seemed very happy and kind of sympathetic? I was worried he might try to play too rough with her (he and Smokey can get very rough), but he was very gentle with her. She was so happy to be outside and playing with my pups that she would come over and give me a lick and flop on her back to get some belly rubs! Then we went inside, and all she and Sherwood wanted to do was play. When Smokey and Sherwood started playing, she'd bark and referee, then try to hump whoever was closest. She is already joining Smokey in unnecessary guard dog duties/barking, and we've discovered that she loves to chew on bones. There is no hint of any shyness or anxiety at all now that she is out of the shelter.

We're still all getting used to each other (it's only been a few hours), but overall everything is going so much easier than I had hoped! I was not anticipating that my main challenge would be to keep her from playing with Sherwood too much during her heartworm treatment activity restriction. I'm so glad that she gets along so well with my dogs and is making herself at home!


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