Around some time in June, I decided I wanted a second dog. Sadie is great but two dogs are better than one. I talked Wes into it and we started our search. We wanted a puppy (under one year old), female, 30lb maximum once full grown and from the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter. That's where I got Kensington from and I feel like that's the best place to truly rescue an animal.
We went to a few adoption fairs--saw one dog I was going to get but I didn't have cash (who doesn't use a Square reader nowadays?) & then saw another at a second event but there was some weird stuff going on with the volunteers that prevented us from getting it,
visited the pound (none met our qualifications),
and almost got a dog from a coworker of mine (which, I know isn't the pound but that's where the dog could have gone if no one had adopted it). Nothing worked out. The Universe was against us and it was like infertility all over again but I wanted a puppy instead of a baby.
A coworker of mine's cousin works at the Oklahoma City Animal Shelter and gave us updates as soon as puppies became available. I also checked their website weekly to see if any dogs that were brought in met our qualifications. It took us two months but we finally got one. And she was worth waiting for... meet Athena! She is a two-month-old Border Collie Australian Shepherd mix, which just happen to be Wes' two favorite breeds of dog.
Athena Zucchini Kirtley adopted August 20th, 2015
She has had a whirlwind of a life thus far...
I adopted her on my lunch break and dropped her off with Alan and his dog, Sonja. (There are two incredibly cute videos of Athena playing with her, they're on my Facebook.) Sonja was her baby sitter for the day and then Wes picked her up after work to go on her very first shopping trip.
She got a pretty purple collar and some yummy puppy food.
After shopping, Athena got to meet big sister, Sadie! Sadie still doesn't particularly like cuddling together but she shares her bed and toys with Athena and they love to run around and play. Sometimes playing entirely too rough, though *rolls eyes*.
Sadie's first encounter with her new baby sister.
That was just the first night home. The next couple of days would hold more adventures. She had her initial vet visit on Friday and then my mom's birthday party on Saturday. Athena was one happy little girl.
Car ride home from our very first vet visit.
Then like all good things, it all came to an end. Athena had pretty severe pneumonia. She didn't show any signs of it and the vet didn't catch it during our visit. Sunday morning, Athena was having a fitful sleep. She was coughing and hacking, her little nose was running like a faucet and she refused to move. Wes decided it was time to go to the emergency vet.
At the ER with pneumonia symptoms.
She was immediately put on fluids and her chest scans didn't look too great. She definitely had pneumonia and possibly distemper (we later found out that test was negative). She stayed at the emergency vet for the next three days while slowly improving. The following Tuesday, we picked her up, paid our ridiculously large bill and were sent home with medicine. She was still a little sickly but, luckily, she is a fighter and she's happier & healthier than ever now.
She's learned how to both break down and crawl over the baby gate.
Athena is one smart cookie. She knows where her food and treats are located, she's played with all her toys and has learned how to hoist herself onto the couch (which until that point was Sadie's only safe hiding spot.) She hasn't completely mastered potty training or walking on a leash, yet, but she is a pro at busting out of the baby gated bedroom. LOL She can hold it while she's in her kennel for a few hours. Her favorite pastime is pestering Sadie. It's good that Sadie has a playmate now because she seems younger and happier, too. Athena is very curious and always mimics Sadie and tries to get into whatever Wes & I are doing, especially if our activity involves food. Oh the joys of owning a puppy.
She also loves climbing on things...like Wes. LOL She is a handful but also incredibly adorable. The perfect puppy. She'd probably win awards for being the best puppy ever if we entered her into a contest. Wes intends to teach her tricks when she's older so we might look into agility training and competitions. But that's much much later. Right now she's just enjoying life as a mischievous little brat.
So there it is- the newest member of the family. Sorry this wasn't a recipe or craft tutorial but who doesn't like pictures of puppies? Am I right? My day job is slowly killing me and I have no energy to do anything after work so I have no creativity. Blogging is hard. Crafting is hard. Please buy pillows from RagsReborn so I can take my soul back from Delta Dental. Hahahaha... okay, I'm only half joking. Maybe. But...switching to a serious note... my upcoming schedule of shows:
November 7th- Triumph Family Worship's Craft Fair
November 14th- PC West Fest
December 12- The Crown Center's Handmade Fair
I will be writing about, posting pictures and advertising each of these shows on my social media sites so stay tuned! The rest of the year should prove a busy time for RagsReborn :D
Good night from the pups and have a wonderful rest of your week!!
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