What has four petite little paws, a curly tail that wags like crazy, cute little tan eyebrow spots, a love for walks, and what seems to be a complete inability to sit still for photos? Alice!!!
I spent a lot of time this summer prowling the internet for dogs, even meeting a few prospects. On Saturday, September 24, Mom, Mel and I drove to the Kitsap County Humane Society to look at some dachshunds that were up for adoption, thinking we would stick with our current breed. Well, they were cute, but walking through the kennels a little dog sleeping on her bed at the back of the kennel caught my eye. She was curled up on the bed, not showing much interest in the people or dogs walking by, but when she looked at me she stole my heart. I bent down to get on her level, and she slowly got out of bed and walked to the front of the kennel. She looked fearful--slinking over, tail and head low. A few treats helped to bring her out of her shell, and I was sure I needed to meet this dog. Unfortunately, she was on a stray hold until Sunday the 25th, so she couldn't be taken out of the kennel and introduced to us on Saturday.
Saturday night saw a lot of thought, and I emailed the humane society to ask for more information about the dog in kennel 45, going by the name of Albion. They couldn't tell me much, since she'd come in as a stray, but the main fact that was communicated was that she would not be spayed until someone wanted to adopt her, so my hopes of waiting to drive back to Silverdale after she was spayed were dashed. After church on Sunday Mom and I drove back to the humane society. Silverdale is no short journey! It takes at least an hour and a half to get there, so this dog hunt took up most of my weekend!
With the stray hold off one of the humane society counselors brought Alice into an outdoor run to meet us. There was never any doubt in my mind that she would be my dog. She showed interest in people and happily rolled over on her back for Mom to rub her belly--more personality than other dogs we'd me there!
Once I had committed to adopting her they were able to schedule her spay, but that meant she couldn't come home on Sunday. Monday (Sept. 26) morning I got a call from the shelter that she was out of surgery and would be ready to go by 2, so guess where I was Monday afternoon! Mel and I hopped in the car and headed, for the third time, to Silverdale.
Alice was still coming out of the surgery anesthesia and we had to carry her out to the car. She rode on Mel's lap the whole way home. Because the weather was so bad on Monday and we didn't want to sit in traffic through Tacoma, we elected to take the ferry from Bainbridge to Seattle, so Alice got quite a few new experiences at once. And she handled it great!
She and Sammy (our other dog) are getting along relatively well. While she tends to ignore him, he barks a lot when she approaches any of his people or his space (he doesn't share too well). In just the past few days Alice has figured out how to play with Sammy, so they're getting along better and better.
Alice weighs about 25 pounds and is estimated to be 7 months old. She was found as a stray somewhere in the Tri Cities in Eastern Washington, and for some reason was transferred to the Kitsap Humane Society, in far Western Washington. Whatever the reason, I'm glad I found her! She's such a mixed breed that the shelter wouldn't even try to identify what she is; her paperwork says "shelter mix," though best guess places her as some sort of beagle miniature pinscher mix. She was obviously loved by someone before, as she knows very well that she should be able to hop into our beds, and she settled very quickly into her own dog bed. She's a fast learner--we've already got sit down pretty well, and it only took one lesson for her to figure out the heel command. So far I haven't heard her bark, which is just fine with me!
