Our canine addition!

Introducing: Pepper!

We have a dog!!!!

In the past few months, I have been looking (some times more actively than others) for available dogs. Our visit from Serena, Brad and Shabu back in November reinforced that I love having a pooch around! Despite enjoying hiking and running quite a bit back when I was not on call all the time, I am not a large-dog person. I love little lap dogs who you can cuddle!

We had a miniature schnauzer ("Toccata") growing up after, when I was about 10, I went on a (successful) campaign lobbying for a family pet. Now, my parents have two little Cairn Terriers, the first of which (Duncan) replaced Toccata soon after she passed away. I love playing with them when I am able to go home. However, until this point in my "adult" life, haven't felt like I had the time to devote to a pet.

Kelvin and I were not super partial towards any particular breeds, or pure-breds for that matter; however Serena was instrumental in promoting the high points of shih tzus. They are incredibly loyal and great companion dogs. Our interest in doggies was re-kindled ("a sign!" I thought) when we saw some shih tzu/poodle puppies advertised in the North Coast Journal (paper); however, the timing didn't work out to view them, and I'm not sure we could handle the housetraining that comes with having a new puppy around!

We also looked at a few shelters-- the McKinleyville shelter, the one in Oakland (when we visited the Lees-- there was a pre-Christmas special on adoption fees), as well as one in Eureka. At the time I saw the dogs there, we weren't quite ready to "commit" (i.e. the Oakland one required you to be in the area to be able to pick up the dog right after neutering/spaying-- which would have been difficult given we live 5 hours away), and may have missed out (a little mutt I had my eye on at the McKinleyville shelter was adopted the same day as my visit-- we saw him walking around the pet store with his new owner as I was shopping for my dog supplies, wanting to be very prepared before we even brought home a pooch!). However, the timing wasn't quite right.

In doing a search for shih tzus in the northern California area, I came across a hobby breeder who was looking to downsize her program and had a 16-month old dog to adopt for a great price. We drove to Happy Camp (about 3 hours from here) to check her out on the 17th, and were sold! The dog (named "Winda" at that point) was a bit quieter than the other rambunctious dogs the owner had, and she felt she'd do better in a quieter home with more 1-on-1 attention. We planned to bring her home after Christmas, not wanting to leave her alone (or at a boarder) so soon after getting her due to our already-planned Christmas getaway.

So, on our way back from Ashland, we picked up little Winda (who we renamed "Pepper") at Happy Camp, and swerved to avoid all the pebbles in the road the whole way back (my car is STILL at the shop). Michelle gave us her dog bed so she'd have something of "home" to accompany her to her new surroundings, and I held her the whole drive back.

I won't lie. I was pretty nervous when we first left. She shivered in my arms for the first 20 minutes or so. When I tried to have her go potty outside the car, she kind of freaked out and tried to slip out of her collar (highway-side...which had my heart racing). She hadn't previously been used to a collar/leash, as the dogs were previously let out of the house to play in a fenced yard. When we got home to our neighborhood, she was really shy, did not really want to walk around, and would cower when she heard our footsteps next to her. I had to drag her up our steps and carry her across the street for her first few trips outside. When she was in our house, she just lay in her doggie bed and didn't really explore. She did not want to eat. She seemed depressed and scared. I wondered if she'd come out of it.





She has. She has really perked up in the last few days. She doesn't really enjoy walking in the rain (despite our dry December overall, we'd kind of made up for it in the last few days! Do doggie raincoats work?). She usually only goes to the bathroom when I walk her, which frustrates Kelvin (I think she's a bit more nervous around him and is not relaxed enough!). But she follows us around from room to room, and wags her little tail whenever she sees us or comes out of her crate. She has also demonstrated that she is quite a Houdini!

We were having her sleep in the crate, and stay in the crate for half-days at a time when we both returned back to work on Wednesday. Despite reading about how it actually is quite a good method of both house-training [we're not sure if she is 100% trained]) and of housing a new dog, it still seems kind of inhumane to me. And because had been so good (i.e. no accidents in the house) and kept overturning her crate food/water dish, I thought she might do okay penned up in our mudroom/entryway, with pet gates blocking it off from the kitchen. We tried this out when we went to bowling last night; however, when we returned home, our cute, calm, "obedient" doggie was hanging out in the living room, waiting to greet us when we entered the house from the garage. She had managed to dislodge our wooden pet gate and escape! Nothing was chewed or anything, but I think she just got bored in the front!

The gate of escape


The other side (untouched)


I left Pepper in the entryway again this morning when we went to work, this time after using a good-sized ottoman to block the gate. When I came home at lunch to take her out, there was no dog in sight. She is usually pretty good about coming right when one of us calls her and we usually can hear her collar jingling, and I was extremely puzzled. She was nowhere to be found downstairs but was clearly out of the gate. And, until today, we did not think that she was able to climb our stairs (she certainly hadn't before, getting "stuck" half-way and being too scared to continue!). But upstairs I went to search. She was not in our bedroom, nor in our office or guest bedroom. I was a bit concerned she'd gotten stolen (before we got the microchip in her!); however, when I checked the bathroom (with door closed!), I found her hanging out by a bunch of towels she'd pulled down from the shelf and amidst which she had likely been nestled (before shutting the door on herself and locking herself in!).

Re-creating her escape (live)
Nudging + Thinking


Thinking more


The escape (caught!)


I put her in the crate for the afternoon and, when Kelvin came home, he again found that she'd escaped from the metal-gated crate!!! I must have gotten lazy in latching it but GEEZ! This girl is probably going to keep us on our toes!

Caring for her surely adds extra time to our days (grooming included!) and more planning; however, we are so in love with her and it has been definitely worth it. I love coming home to see her. She is a sweet, quiet dog but who definitely has a mischievous side (I wish I could videotape her antics when we're gone). She is a bit skittish and shy with strangers, but is already showing more personality, and is a wonderful companion.

Hanging out with Daddy


Momma's Girl


We hope she will be with us for a very long time. Welcome home, Pepper!