I Feel Better; We Get A New Pack Member

See the dog on the right? Doesn't look like me, does it? That's because it's not. That's Poptart, the newest member of our household. You'd think a blog about me would be about, well, *me*, but apparently I'm yielding the floor once again.

Let me update you about *me* first, then I'll tell you the story of Poptart.

You may remember from my last post that I was not feeling well. Turns out that I had an upper respiratory infection, or at least as near as anyone can tell. I was on antibiotics and steroids for a couple weeks, and just before they ran out, I started feeling better. And my nose stopped drooling, which everyone appreciated. I'm over it all now, and back to my old self. jc is quite happy about this, as he was pretty worried. Upper respiratory infections can be really bad news.

Now on to Poptart. jc and Cindy occasionally transport dogs from the animal shelters to the farm, or from the farm to intermediate pickup points so they can go to their furever homes, or rescue groups that are just for their type of dogs. Canine Pet Rescue handles mostly German Shepherd Dogs, but occasionally miniature Australian Shepherds. jc had picked up a few dogs from DeKalb Animal Control to take to the farm before, but Poptart was the first GSD he had transported.

When he picked her up on May 18th, 2011, she was quite pregnant, and kind of smelly (shelter conditions aren't really conducive to keeping one's self clean). But she had a personality (why don't we have doganalities? We're dogs, after all...) he really liked, and he had kinda made noise about bringing her home at some point. Poptart went to the farm, got renamed to "Bella" (which is a *whole* 'nother story), and then had her puppies, all which got adopted out. Now she was looking for *her* furever home.

jc and Cindy go out to the farm to take pictures of the dogs now and again, and each time jc made noises about how cool Poptart (also known as Poppy) was. They talked about bringing her home either for fostering or for keeps, but decided that 4 dogs was just too much. I wasn't sure about the idea, although it would be nice to have a dog that would play with me. Moon (also known as Jurassic Golden Retriever) doesn't play. Makeeta (the 10 year old Shiloh Shepherd) doesn't really play either, or at least for only a very short time.

Well, sometime in August, Poptart ("Bella") thought she found her furever home. There were other dogs there she got along fine with, but a daughter who didn't live at home would bring her dog over, and apparently they didn't get along right away. The people decided she wasn't fitting in, and wanted to send her back. The lady who runs CPR was livid! The contract the adopter signs has a check box that specifically requires human initials in it to indicate they understand that it could take several months for the new pack order to be established, and problems may come up that have to be worked through. Nonetheless, they wanted to return her. jc heard about this, talked to Cindy, and they agreed that Poptart should join our pack. Cindy commented she thought it was inevitable, and that everyone knew sooner or later Poppy would be a Wren pack member.

On August 28th, jc and Cindy picked up Poptart from the farm, and brought her home. Over a couple days we all got introduced, and for the most part got along famously. The agreement was that they would foster her for two weeks to make sure there weren't going to be any serious issues, and then they'd adopt her. On 9/11 (that's a famous date in history for two reasons now!) jc let it be known that Poptart had joined the Wren pack as a permanent member. He also said something about that anyone who calls her Bella is going to get a pop in the nose! Poptart is the name she meant to have from the beginning, and it's a much better name.

For the most part, things are going great! Poppy and I wrestle like two crazy dogs, throwing each other around, jumping on the couch in jc's office (we're allowed to do that on that couch. The one in the living room is strictly off limits), tearing up and down the hallway, and playing ball constantly.

Oh, I don't guess I mentioned this, but we all think she's about 2 1/2 years old or so. jc said her birthday is the same as mine, which is the same as his (April 30th), so we're all getting a *huge* cake next year :). You can also see some other pictures of her here.

The only issue we really have is that Makeeta likes to be the fun-police. If we start horsing around too much and she's around, she sticks her nose in our fun and goes postal. She's also got Poppy thoroughly cowed (sigh, kinda like me, if the ball rolls to a stop near her, jc or Cindy has to go get it. Actually, sometimes, she's kinda mean to me). There's been one or two minor altercations, but jc has no hesitation about stepping in and putting a stop to it [OK, so maybe sometimes jc isn't very bright. --jc]. Poptart doesn't start anything with Makeeta, but she won't back down, either.

Expect to hear more about the adventures of me and Poppy. Even though it's my blog, I'll share space with her.

*woof*