Someone New to Love

We got to bed far later than we should have, knowing that morning would come all too soon. Our play had lasted into the late hours, but with the newness of our relationship we were still getting to know one another.

She crawled into bed next to me, snuggling in as close as she could. Her warm body pressed against mine, I stroked her beautiful black hair, so soft and silky, as we drifted off to sleep, her warm breath on my neck.

She woke me up at 4 am, squirming and needy. I wanted so badly to go back to sleep, having only been in the dream world for a few hours, but her urgency was not to be denied.

I went out to the kitchen, Lexi on my heels, clipped on her collar and leash and took her outside to pee. Yes, at 4 am. Ug.

I got a new dog. What were you thinking? heh heh

Alexis (Lexi) came to live with us on Saturday.

After losing our sweet Pugsley in April, we knew that we wanted to get another dog. We didn't get in a hurry though...we were waiting for the right dog to come along. We wanted to take in one who needed a home, a rescue, rather than buy one and didn't particularly want to deal with the tribulations of a baby puppy. We wanted a younger one, though, one that would be with us for a long time and make a great companion for D. We wanted a medium sized dog, a little bigger than Pugsleys 20 lbs. but not too big.

Chris saw a flyer on an ad board at the grocery store on Friday. A cute, 9 month old mixed breed girl - free to a good home. She was sweet, loving, playful, up to date on all of her shots, heartworm & parasite protected, spayed and potty trained. She even came with a prepaid membership to our local dog park, good until the end of the year. Apparently a Malamute mixed with ?, she only weighs about 30 pounds and the vet said she'll probably be no more than 35 at full size. She looked perfect, so he pulled down the flyer and called.

With our experience with dog rescue and causes (something I should post about in more detail), they were put at ease knowing that we are dog lovers. He told them about Pugsley, and the heartbreak of losing him, and what we were looking for in a new friend. I called them when he came home and showed me the flyer, and we talked for a long time, arranging to come to meet her the next morning.

Chris had work to do Sat. morning, so D and I went to meet Lexi. She is a total sweetheart - she and D hit it off immediately. She loves to play fetch and tug-o-war, and they nearly wore each other out playing during the 2 hours we were there. Her owners loved her dearly, having pulled her from a shelter in Missouri a month earlier. The problem was that they had 5 cats - and the cats were absolutly terrified of her. They hid all of the time, and after a month they were not getting any closer to accepting her, so they had decided that it wasn't fair to the cats to keep her. I could tell it was hard for them to let her go, but they knew that we would give her a good home. I agreed to let them come visit her any time they want and even take her to the dog park for an afternoon if they so desire. They were thrilled.

They brought her over a few hours later to her new home, our house. It has gone well so far - our cats are adjusting. Leonardo, king of the roost, has delivered a few "lessons" on who's boss and she learned quickly, yipping with her tail between her legs. She respects him and give him a wide berth already. Soon, they'll be buddies just like he and Pugsley were. The kitten is still scared of her, but I think that won't last long.

We took her to Petco yesterday, a grand adventure to be sure, and got her a new walking harness, some treats and new toys (although she came with a large bag of stuffed toys and bones). Spoiled? Nah... not our dog. ;) Then we took her over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to meet them. They used to have a Malamute, and fell in love with her immediately.

She loves car rides and loves to snuggle with you - she'll crawl up in your lap and set her muzzle on your shoulder. When you snuggle and pet her, she sighs with contentment. What a sweet girl.

She has had a couple accidents in the house, but mainly due to our not knowing how to read her. She doesn't whine, bark or scratch at the door when she needs to go. She simply acts restless. I also learned that you have to be patient with her as she tends to mill around quite a bit before getting down to business.

I'm sure you'll all hear plenty about her in upcoming posts. See the next post down for some pics. We're so happy to have finally found our pup.