First, was LBD, Little Black Dog. The girls named him Kenny. In any case about two weeks ago Jeremy was out with Cricket walking the dogs when they noticed a little black Chihuahua had joined the pack.
All this is taking place while I'm at work, by the way. They see the little dog has no tags, no collar, and he looks a little thin. So Cricket decides that the little guy needs some rescuing and decides to leave him with us (thanks, Cricket).When we got home there he was along with Zoe and Charlie. He was small, smaller than Zoe, and he barked a lot. It was fairly obvious he was scared. Of course, Zoe & Charlie greeted me with their usual exuberance and after a couple of hours if was obvious from his wagging tail and wanting look in his eyes that he wanted to be included with the fun and treats that were going around. By bedtime LBD was over his fear was soon competing for our attention.
My best guess was that he's around six months old. Veterinarians can tell a dog's age by looking at it's teeth. Comparing his teeth size to 11-month old Charlie's it was clear that LBD's was quite a bit smaller. He was unaltered, meaning he hadn't been fixed. I sure wish he was though, because he was marking like crazy! Charlie never did that.
He was completely jet black except for two tiny spots of white on the front of his throat and at the top of his sternum. He was collarless but there was an impression around his neck that looked like there had been one there. Karen and I had concluded that he must have been someone's pet that had gotten out of his collar and got loose. We put an ad up on Craig's List. We checked in with the shelter (more about that later). And we had him checked for a microchip (none found). 
It was almost a mistake to check with the animal shelter. It was our first destination to have him checked for a chip. They informed us that if we ask the county, on the record, to check for the chip then we would have to surrender him after 24 hours if no owner was found. Only after a two week waiting period would we be allowed to adopt him out. The thought of having the little boy kept in a cage for that long was totally unacceptable. Why make him miserable and add to the shelter's burden at the same time? No. County ordinances sure didn't make it easy for well-meaning dog rescuers.
So we waited.
In the meanwhile we got to know him. He was a complete little lovebug. He thrived on affection and just ate up ear scratches and belly rubs. Although Karen and I had grown fond of him it was clear that we couldn't take on a third dog. Also, clear was that the little guy was the omega of the three. Zoe took great efforts to put him in his place. He needed to be the only dog in whatever household he ended up in.
Luckily, we were able to find a co-worker that we knew would be able to take him in and spoil him. We took him to his new San Francisco home on Saturday. I'm fairly confident he'll be happy in his new permanent home.
What else is going on? We're moving. Not very far. Closer to the high school actually. It's a nicer place, too, with bigger rooms for the kids, and most importantly, a fenced in yard for the dogs. Sure this place is bigger and the yard's bigger, too, but what's the use if it's not fenced in and we can't let the dogs out? I actually look forward to living there. I just HATE moving.
It was almost a mistake to check with the animal shelter. It was our first destination to have him checked for a chip. They informed us that if we ask the county, on the record, to check for the chip then we would have to surrender him after 24 hours if no owner was found. Only after a two week waiting period would we be allowed to adopt him out. The thought of having the little boy kept in a cage for that long was totally unacceptable. Why make him miserable and add to the shelter's burden at the same time? No. County ordinances sure didn't make it easy for well-meaning dog rescuers.
So we waited.
In the meanwhile we got to know him. He was a complete little lovebug. He thrived on affection and just ate up ear scratches and belly rubs. Although Karen and I had grown fond of him it was clear that we couldn't take on a third dog. Also, clear was that the little guy was the omega of the three. Zoe took great efforts to put him in his place. He needed to be the only dog in whatever household he ended up in.
Luckily, we were able to find a co-worker that we knew would be able to take him in and spoil him. We took him to his new San Francisco home on Saturday. I'm fairly confident he'll be happy in his new permanent home.
What else is going on? We're moving. Not very far. Closer to the high school actually. It's a nicer place, too, with bigger rooms for the kids, and most importantly, a fenced in yard for the dogs. Sure this place is bigger and the yard's bigger, too, but what's the use if it's not fenced in and we can't let the dogs out? I actually look forward to living there. I just HATE moving.
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