Well...our family has been contemplating the addition of a pet. We have discussed getting a puppy off and on now for a few months. I think having a pet would be a great experience for the kids. I personally, had pets growing up and it encouraged me to be responsible and to appreciate animals for their beauty and unconditional love that they give. My husband on the other hand is not against having a pet but is leery on the demands it will make on the family. He is not what I would call a big animal person. He grew up in a city suburb and not in a rural area as I did. So the animal thing was not a big part of his family life. He agreed to give it a shot. I think mainly because my daughter in particular has been asking for a puppy. The boys are on the fence. They seem OK with the idea but aren't jumping out of their shoes.
This past weekend ( March 21, 2009), my daughter and I we went up to our local animal shelter to have a gander at what was there. I told her we would just stop in and take a quick look. Once we were back at the cages we met up with a beautiful German Shepherd named Sammy. She was quick to catch my eye as Shepherds were my dog of choice. The downfall was that I was looking for a puppy and she was pretty much out of the puppy stage. The handler told us she was 11 mos old. Almost a year!! I still kept going back to her and we took her out to view her. I had to keep in mind that I needed a dog that was VERY good with kids. I wanted to see how she interacted with Kayley. Once we had her in the play room, we were able to get some background info on her. To my relief, she was brought up around children and had been with the previous owners since she was 7 weeks old. The report indicated that the family was forced to move and had to give her up. It also said she had been in the house and that she had already been house broken as well as she did do the basic commands of sit and lay down. The previous owner also stated that her father was 100% German Shepherd and that her mom was 3/4 Shepherd as well. To look at her its very difficult to tell that she has anything else in her but shepherd. So she really portrays the German Shepherd qualities. It was looking better and better. She settled down quickly and was very quiet once she was out of the kennel. I truly was surprised at how well mannered she was!! We ended up leaving and going home to get the husband. The other two boys were at people's houses so they weren't around. Then we went back up again for him to see her. He was a little surprised at her size (60 + lbs.) but liked how she seemed to settle in with people quickly. Of course, we couldn't make a decision at that time. I still wanted my youngest to meet her. The next day the shelter was closed so we couldn't see her. On March 23 rd (Monday) I ran the youngest up to see how the two would react and get along. He had never been near a large dog so initially he was a little shy. She went right up to Kaden and gave him a big kiss and nudged his hand for a pet! She was trying her best to get him to pet her!! We spent some more time in the show area to get him used to her. At the end, he was petting her and rubbing her tummy!! That was the deal breaker. I said that we would take her!
The shelter had her set up to be neutered on March 26th. So I said we would just have that taken care of and that we would get her on March 27th. Now we are just anxiously passing time til we actually bring her home. HMMMM...I hope this will be a good decision. I guess updates will be posted once she makes her presence at the house! The picture posted is our Sammy!
This past weekend ( March 21, 2009), my daughter and I we went up to our local animal shelter to have a gander at what was there. I told her we would just stop in and take a quick look. Once we were back at the cages we met up with a beautiful German Shepherd named Sammy. She was quick to catch my eye as Shepherds were my dog of choice. The downfall was that I was looking for a puppy and she was pretty much out of the puppy stage. The handler told us she was 11 mos old. Almost a year!! I still kept going back to her and we took her out to view her. I had to keep in mind that I needed a dog that was VERY good with kids. I wanted to see how she interacted with Kayley. Once we had her in the play room, we were able to get some background info on her. To my relief, she was brought up around children and had been with the previous owners since she was 7 weeks old. The report indicated that the family was forced to move and had to give her up. It also said she had been in the house and that she had already been house broken as well as she did do the basic commands of sit and lay down. The previous owner also stated that her father was 100% German Shepherd and that her mom was 3/4 Shepherd as well. To look at her its very difficult to tell that she has anything else in her but shepherd. So she really portrays the German Shepherd qualities. It was looking better and better. She settled down quickly and was very quiet once she was out of the kennel. I truly was surprised at how well mannered she was!! We ended up leaving and going home to get the husband. The other two boys were at people's houses so they weren't around. Then we went back up again for him to see her. He was a little surprised at her size (60 + lbs.) but liked how she seemed to settle in with people quickly. Of course, we couldn't make a decision at that time. I still wanted my youngest to meet her. The next day the shelter was closed so we couldn't see her. On March 23 rd (Monday) I ran the youngest up to see how the two would react and get along. He had never been near a large dog so initially he was a little shy. She went right up to Kaden and gave him a big kiss and nudged his hand for a pet! She was trying her best to get him to pet her!! We spent some more time in the show area to get him used to her. At the end, he was petting her and rubbing her tummy!! That was the deal breaker. I said that we would take her!
The shelter had her set up to be neutered on March 26th. So I said we would just have that taken care of and that we would get her on March 27th. Now we are just anxiously passing time til we actually bring her home. HMMMM...I hope this will be a good decision. I guess updates will be posted once she makes her presence at the house! The picture posted is our Sammy!
No comments:
Post a Comment