STRYDER, adopted 9-13-14

I've probably already blogged enough about losing Shadow, but I've got to include a little more on the bridge to Stryder.  It's kind of eerie and disquieting that both of our dogs passed away only a short time after we had left them to go on trips.  We had left both of them with Barbara and Earl last year to travel quickly to Salt Lake for Sean's baptism.  Velvet died 3 weeks later.  Then, this time, we had left Shadow and the whole crew to go to San Fransisco and Shadow died less than 2 weeks after we got home from our San Fran trip.  That was one thing I was so nervous about - that something would happen while we were away.  I am so thankful that both times, our entire family was home and able to say good-bye, and that someone else didn't have to take care of something so terrible for us.

The travel really is nerve-wracking.  David is always gone, and the girls and I seem to come up with plenty in-between too.  I had another trip planned in early October to go see new baby Lyla, another to Denver in mid-October and David had a bunch lined up as well.  After Shadow was gone, we decided that it would be much easier to wait on a new dog with all the travel coming up.  We were aiming to wait until at least the end of October, maybe even holiday season.  We wanted to take our time.  We wanted to grieve.  We wanted to find JUST the RIGHT dog.  We didn't want to rush, and we definitely didn't want to deal with a puppy right now.

Shadow died on September 5th.  (Lyla was born on the 4th - I'm so happy those didn't happen on the same day either.)  On September 13th, only a week later, we headed to a PetSmart adoption event, just to BROWSE and look at puppies.  Ha!

When Velvet died, it was a different kind of hard.  It was the first time something like that had happened for the kids and it was a lot to process, and her absence was definitely a stark, empty, feeling.  But, we still had Shadow.  She gave us attention, and she still needed attention too.  It's hard to say which loss was harder.  They were both awful.  This time, our house without a dog in it, felt like a graveyard.  There was a quiet ghost in every corner.  It was nice to still have Kitty and a little fluff still roaming around.  But, Shadow had moved from our immediate shadows to ghostly shadows in every moment of the day.  We quickly found out - Shadow was 90% of the reason we ever even went outside in our yard.  Whole days went by when we didn't even open the back door.   I would go to lock up at night and find the back door still locked from last night, in disbelief that no one had opened it all day.  All the old habits of taking care of a dog were just permanent painful reminders that she wasn't here.  The cat was too easy.  Feed her twice a day, maybe we would see her otherwise, maybe not.  She did wait at the doors for Shadow to come in.  I think she missed her too.  They were friends.  The missing is made even worse by all the habits you have that you don't need anymore.  We just couldn't take it.

We started talking about what we would name a new dog.  David said it would be Strider, after the Lord of the Rings character, if we got a boy dog.  No need to worry about that, I said.  We will always have girl dogs.  I don't want a dog who lifts his leg on everything in my yard and house.  But, that was all talk for ANOTHER day... except, we decided we needed to at least pet a dog before we all lost our minds.  So we headed to the make-shift shelter in the PetSmart parking lot at their big adoption event from the Watermelon Ranch animal rescue.  My neighbor had told me about the event the day before and I had already made a firm decision that we would NOT be attending.

As we drove there, I prayed the whole way that all the dogs would be pitbulls or chihuahuas and we wouldn't fall in love with anyone or have any reason to take one home.  I really wasn't ready, emotionally, mentally, or physically, to take on another dog so soon.  I was completely spent from taking care of Shadow and watching her cross Rainbow Bridge.  But, I knew that it would cure a lot for the kids to have another dog, so I was willing to be open, IF the RIGHT dog was there.

We went in the first tent.  Thankfully - they were all older dogs/little yappers.  No yappers allowed, and after losing a dog, I just couldn't take on a dog whose life with me was already shortened by age.  I needed a puppy so that THAT could be pushed as far into the future as possible.  Whew.  Next tent.  This one was full of nearly-year-old puppies.  hmmm... wonder WHY?  Of course - because they've all just chewed their previous owner's houses to shreds and got the boot.  We know all about one year old puppies.  (Insert all of the Velvet stories.)  I wasn't opposed to a one year old puppy, but so many of them were breeds I didn't care about, and the ones I did were just heart-breaking.  Those black lab/retriever mixes just ruin me to look at now.  I could not look one of those dogs in the face without losing my mind.  I seriously could not handle it.

At first, I was thinking I would want another Shadow - I said I would want a dog like her for the rest of my life.  That is true, if I don't have to leave her body in the office of the emergency vet in the mean-time.  Even though there were several "Shadow and Velvet" kinds of pups to choose from, I soon realized I couldn't have one.  That pretty much left the cat trailer outside (thanks, but we're full in the cat department), and a pen of tiny 8 week old puppies that really weren't too appealing - all weird breed mixes, and nothing terribly cute, except the one on his way to the adoption table already.  Check.  We were done.  But, we went around that cage block one more time, and came across... A 4 MONTH OLD GREAT DANE MIX NAMED JIMMY.  He was short-haired, and grey and white, and looked nothing like those tragic lab mixes, and had these big soft light eyes, and ears the size of circus tents.  The kids looked at him, then they looked at me.  Then he looked at me...  I looked at David.  He was no help, his eyes were the same.

I freaked.  I couldn't do it.  I said let's walk around PetSmart and THINK about this, people!  The only thing anyone could think about was getting back to that cage before another family got him.  We went back to his cage.  HE WAS GONE.  Oh great, now I had really done it.  Everyone realized how much they REALLY wanted him at that point and I think we all said a silent little prayer that he would come back.  Thankfully, a couple of minutes later, the family who took him out brought him back.  We immediately took him outside for a test cuddle.  We knew he was coming home with us.  We knew we couldn't go another day without a dog, and he was IT.

I had joked about taking Jessica's Great Dane, Dante, home with me over the summer.  He is such a cool dog and so sweet and mellow.  I had high hopes that this one would turn out similarly.  He certainly was very calm for a puppy.  He was so sweet and gentle and, well, cute of course.  He seemed pretty smart too.  The guy swore he wouldn't get about 60 pounds (duh, they pay him to say that - I knew I was looking at a dog who could get to 100.)  But, we knew what it would mean if we took him home and we did it anyway.

I was still bawling from seeing all those black dogs with hints of Shadow and Velvet in their faces.  I filled out the paperwork while I cried some more.  While we were filling out papers, we found out some of Jimmy's back-ground.  He had been in a shelter in Aztec, NM for most of his short life with his sister.  They were scheduled to be euthanized just a few days before.  A woman had come into the shelter just in time and found out they were on death row.  She said "you aren't going to put those puppies down, are you?" And, they responded with the usual response - we're out of room and they haven't been adopted in months.  She was sure she could find homes for them, so she fostered them for a couple of days and delivered them to Watermelon Ranch.  Jimmy's sister had been adopted the day before we found him.  Poor Jimmy had some big doggie paw prints to fill at our house.  I hoped he was up to the task.  What if he was mean? What if he was dumb? What if he destroyed everything in the house?  What if he eats the cat?  What if he wasn't right for us and we had to find him a new home?  The kids cannot take losing another animal so fast... this is nuts!

We paid his adoption fee, and went back into PetSmart, Jimmy in hand, for his first shopping trip.  The Watermelon Ranch rescue had given him a nice new collar, but we needed a leash.  And puppy food.  And clearly, some chew toys.  And a tag with MY phone number and his his new name on it; oh, wait, we DID end up with a boy dog...  The kids excitedly watched the machine carve STRYDER (with a "y" for extra cool factor) into his new bone-shaped tag.  The kids were beaming as they walked their new puppy around the store and everyone stopped to pet him or tell us how cute he was.  They loved telling people he was only 4 months old even though he was nearly knee-height and weighed 25 pounds.  I was still crying; about Shadow, about Velvet, about those black dogs I had just seen, and about the dog I was taking home...

We stopped outside of the PetSmart doors for a "first photo" with the kids, and then we took him to the truck to take him home.

He had no idea how to get in the truck.  We thought he would jump right in.  But he kind of face planted on the floor and the girls tried to help him get his hind legs in.  He was totally awkward and uncoordinated.  The same thing happened when we brought him home and we tried to get him to follow us up the stairs.  He had never seen stairs before and didn't know what to do.  He stumbled and hit his face and missed stairs and put all 4 paws on one stair and finally made it to the top.  It took him a few days to finally figure it out.

I felt extremely terrible, adopting Stryder the day that we did.   David and I had a 6 hour (by the time you drive and take kids and get home) outing planned that night - to go to dinner and the temple with some friends.  We knew we'd have to keep Stryder in a crate while we were gone.  We hoped he would understand.  We hoped he wouldn't have too many accidents...  We came home to find him and the crate completely covered in yucky poop.  Poor guy!  I don't know what they were feeding him at the shelter, but it did not agree with his tummy.  It took him 3 days to get over it after switching him to better food.

Luckily, we had 2 huge crates from flying Shadow and Velvet to Boston, so we put the icky one outside to clean in the morning, and had him sleep in the clean one.  He cried ALL night and had to go out several times.  The next night, he curled up on a mat next to my bed and looked at me with the most sincere eyes - PLEASE, LET ME SLEEP HERE!  I promise I won't MOVE!  For some reason, I caved, and let him.  He kept his promise.  He didn't get up except to ask to go out and went right back to bed.  He slept next to the bed for a few weeks until he finally got long enough legs and enough spring, to launch himself onto our bed.  (He had been trying since day 1.)  So, now we sleep with a giraffe.  He does sleep soundly though and doesn't move unless he needs to go out.

He did try to eat the cat, but not in a mean way.  His FAVORITE thing to do is to shred stuffed animals (luckily, we figured this out quick and keep him in a steady supply of his OWN.)  But, I think sometimes, he views Kit Cat as an extra soft, warm, stuffed animal and thinks it would be fun to shred her at his shredding station.   Kitty hid from him for a solid month - only came out to eat.  She gained like 2 pounds from not moving or playing.  Slowly, over the last 3 months, they have been getting used to each other.  Sometimes they like each other; sometimes they fight.  They both egg each other on.  I don't think Stryder would hurt her on purpose now, but he is so big with such huge teeth, that he could easily kill her just by trying to play with her, so we still keep a close eye.  After 4 months, he's gained at least 4 inches in height and more than doubled his weight - he's about 55 pounds now and growing!

I know everyone thinks we were nuts to get a dog so soon.  I totally agree.  We were.  But, we were nuts without him too.

I think it was the day we adopted him, the girls took Stryder out on a walk.  They skipped out the front door and squealed as they ran down the driveway with him.  We watched them head down the street from the kitchen window.  David and I looked at each other and burst into tears.  He had been having such a hard time too - stopping at night to let Shadow out one more time, only to realize she wasn't there... heading to her food bowl in the morning... neither one of us was ready for Stryder, but we were glad to have him fill up the house and take some of the pain out of the kids' faces.

Here's a little photo tour of his first week:

Sunday morning hike in the Volcanoes: 

Lick, lick, lick.  He loves to lick you.  Kisses all day.

those EARS!  seriously, I think we let him talk us into moving in with us because of the ears.

the mat he insisted on sleeping on instead of his crate

 The girls couldn't wait to take him to the bus stop and show him off on their way to school.

I may have let him snuggle in bed with me.  This would prove to be a fatal error - just like letting a kid get in your bed...

The 3rd or 4th day we had him, it was a cloudy, rainy morning and I took him out on the mesa for a walk.  He got pretty dirty and definitely cold and wet.  So, when we got home, I gave him a big doggy bubble bath in my tub.  I had been meaning to anyway because he totally smelled like animal shelter.  After his bath he was shivering cold, so I wrapped him up in a quilt like a baby and he sat on my lap, almost purring for like an hour, he was so warm and content.  

This is what happens when you let him have a pad IN the crate.  After that, we gave him towels for a while until he started eating those too.  Now his crate is bare.  I feel bad, but he will just eat whatever you put in there.  

Harriet and Grace chose toys for him on the first shopping trip.  Hattie chose that green frog. It was his favorite. Until he ate the last bite.  Poor froggy.  Grace chose a Kong football that is still around.  It's totally bare of it's original fuzz, but the ball and squeaker are intact.  That's pretty impressive considering how many toys he's gone through and his first order of business is to remove any squeaker from any toy you give him.

In the last 4 months of getting to know him, we have discovered that he is a lot like Shadow and Velvet, and at the same time, nothing like them.  He loves to chew and destroy like Velvet.  He is obsessed with food, like Velvet.  He loves to chase things (little animals, cats, people, other dogs) like Shadow.  He is ALWAYS underfoot, but not resting right behind you like Shadow.  He is literally in-between your legs or stepping on your feet.  He doesn't bark without reason, but his bark, unfortunately, is that of a chihuahua.  We are desperately hoping he gets a deeper voice as he gets older.  It can be ear piercing.  He is super smart, but super clumsy and dorky.  He has grace sometimes (like when jumping over a baby gate - he looks like a beautiful horse, clearing a big fence), but other times is tripping himself and falling flat on his face.  He runs into things.  He never looks where he is going.  He falls off the bed.  He misses jumping into the truck.

We have speculated what breeds are truly mixed in him.  We were told "Great Dane mix."  Then, the papers from the Aztec shelter said "husky/pit-bull" then, pit-bull was crossed out.  The next page said "pit-bull/lab" with pit-bull crossed out.  The Watermelon Ranch papers said "Great Dane mix."  He has extra toes on his hind feet, webbed feet, ears like a German shepherd, a tail too long for a husky, but curled like one, with a white tip,  short hair, green/grey eyes, and now he is getting SPOTS on his white markings - like a dalmatian?  (Dalmatians slowly get their spots as they get older...)  He has the bark of a chihuahua, and legs like a Great Dane or a Weimaraner.  We could call him a "mutt," because he seriously has something of everything.  But, we decided to call him a "dragon."  Grace has this book about Chinese dragons and how their bodies are built of like 7 different kinds of animals - to unite the cultures.  He's our dragon dog.  And, now we've nick-named him "Scooby" because he seriously has a Scooby Doo personality.  "RUH ROH?"  We also call him "Bubbers," because, well, he's just a bubber!

Welcome to the family, Scoobs.  We kind of can't believe we love you as much as we do.  I would probably love you even more if I wasn't so tired from taking care of you.

Really, this is the reason...