Home at Last!

 We finally got the call last Monday!  Aspen was distemper free and was cleared to come home.


We did all the paperwork and then the lady went to the back to bring her out to us.  They always carry the puppies to prevent piddling in the lobby.  When we first saw Aspen in the lady's arms we couldn't believe how big she had gotten!  Her ears are too big for her head and she looked humungous.


After getting her home though she didn't look that much bigger than Maisy.  She's about 18 pounds compared to Maisy who is 14 pounds.  She doesn't like sitting still for pictures so I don't have any good ones yet.


Everything is a first for her since she's been in isolation.  She loves going for walks as long as Maisy is with her.  She likes being the lead dog so Irv has to run with her at times to keep up with Maisy.


Her first few days she just wanted to sit on the couch and be cuddled.  Every sound startled her.  The couch is still her safe spot when she's feeling anxious.  She also has a crate and playpen for the times Irv and I need a few minutes break.  Notice how one ear is up and the other is down just like her nephew Diesel's ears.


Her original paperwork said she is an Australian Shephard mix, but when we adopted her they said German Shephard/Husky mix.  I tend to believe the latter.   We'll know soon enough though because I ordered a DNA test for her.  She was brought here from a rescue in Louisiana.  I keep telling her how lucky she is to not have to grow up in Louisiana with all the creepy crawly things and the heat and humidity.


She's extremely sweet and lovable and smart.  She already learned her name and Irv had her sitting by the second day.  Today she starts her puppy training classes.  Housebreaking is more of getting Irv and I trained.  We (mostly Irv) takes her out every 2-3 hours throughout the day and night.  Irv takes the night shifts and I relieve him about 6:00 am so that he can sleep in for a few hours.  Needless to say I am feeling extremely sleep deprived because if something wakes me up at night I am unable to fall back asleep.  I've been averaging about 3 hours of sleep per night since she arrived.  We're having lots of house guests arrive this week so I hope they're not to fond of sleep either.  😅


One thing Aspen really hates is the wind.  She pretty much refuses to go outside when the wind is gusting (just like her mom).  Maisy doesn't even act like Aspen exists.  I believe she thinks that if she ignores her that maybe she'll go away.  We have 30 days to return her to the Humane Society if it's not a good fit, but we're already head over heels in love with her.


I'm not sure getting a puppy was the wisest move.  She'll probably be with us until our late 70s so here's to taking a chance that we'll live that long.


Comments

polcat24 said…
Yes she is such a sweet dog. I'm wondering about her out living us also but we will just have to wait and see. But she seems smart and seems to learn quick so wish us luck.
March 14, 2023 at 2:54 PM
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