Princess Zoe

I know I dish out a lot of semi-important advice in my blog, but after two sleepless nights, please take it from me that if you're hesitant about acquiring a dog, make sure you avoid your local PetSmart on those infamous "adoption days". Because unless you have a true heart of stone, there is no way you can walk away without one of their cute and fluffy puppies. I thought I could, which is why I agreed to accompany my husband to just "look" at some of the animals the local shelters had brought in this time. However, the black furry proof that I was wrong is currently asleep in her crate in our bedroom.

Yes, we are now the proud owners of a 9 or 10 week old mutt named Zoe. We're not sure how old she is, or even what kind of dogs her parents were, because Zoe was abandoned. She and her brother were found in a box by an animal control officer and brought to one of our local shelters. It's a sad story, and it's even sadder when you realize that all the tens of animals that are at the adoption days have similar stories, as do the hundreds still in the shelters. Some dogs are brought in hurt, like the little chihuaha mix nicknamed "Gimpy". Gimpy couldn't walk properly because his owners had let his broken leg heal improperly before abandoning him. He was now waiting until enough money had been donated so he could have surgery to fix his leg. Others have been taken away from careless owners, while others are found in plastic bags alongside the road.

See, I told you, all those stories combined with the big brown eyes, wagging tails, and fuzzy puppy scent is enough to melt anybody's "inner mother". So as of Monday, we are the proud parents of our own little lab/husky/something vague princess. While timid and shy at first, she has now completely taken over our house. No one's feet are safe from her nibbling, shoes are meant to sleep on, kibble definitely needs to be eaten (and left) all throughout the kitchen, balls are always meant to be thrown, and don't count on sleeping when little miss princess feels lonely. Our house training program is in full swing, but there's no need to carry out any effectivity studies yet, I'd rather you go out and replenish our stock of Lysol Wipes. And we're not sure if this is an effect of her being abandoned, but don't think you can have some quiet alone time; where you go, Zoe will go too. Whether it's the bathroom, the laundry room, or your car, Zoe has to be there. Oh yes, and please don't read magazines when you could just as well spend your time playing tug of war with her favorite purple ring. I mean, please. Yesterday, our new family addition discovered Gertie, our guinneapig who has had little peace since. We've thus decided that a "meet your fellow pets" orientation is probably in order this weekend. Fortunately little puppies need a lot of naps, and Zoe is no different. She will get tired, wobble on her skinny little legs, and lie down wherever and whenever she is tired. She's fallen asleep with her face inside a shoe, with her nose up against the stove, and in front of wherever we happen to be sitting.

She's great, she's funny, she's exhausting, she's sweet, she's stubborn, and we wouldn't trade our little princess for the world. Pictures will follow as soon as she leaves me enough time at the computer without threatening to either get tangled in all the cords or chew on them.