Puppy Mommy

It official... I'm a puppy mommy.

River is a wonderful addition to our family, even if he is incredibly timid and shy.

River is a Border Collie cross, although he looks like a larger version of a pure bred Collie. He was found at the Westlock Vet clinic as a stray and they took him in, feed him, and waited for someone to claim him. No one did. The vet clinic can only keep dogs for so long before they have to put them down. Luckily, Second Chance Animal Rescue (SCARS) picked him up and took him to a foster home while they waited for someone to adopt him. This was July12. One week later, on July 19, D and I went to a meet and greet with some of the animals up for adoption with SCARS. River (formerly Mario) was quiet, hanging back from everyone else. He didn't even catch our attention until one of the ladies pointed him out.

We walked him around the store, pet him, and generally hung out. River just let us do what we wanted. He listened to our commands, even if he only understood half of them, and was very well behaved. When other dogs were aggressive against him, he just turned and walked away as if he was no longer interested in where he was sitting. We think he may have been abused before he became a stray. One of the ladies was feeding him treats raised her hand too quickly and River dropped to the floor and shook like a leaf for a few moments until we all reassured him that everything was fine. He was an interesting dog.

We put in an application and slept on it. It is a big decision. By morning, we both knew that we needed to give this dog a forever home. We picked River up from the foster home on July 20 at 6:30pm. He is just as timid and shy as we saw at the meet and greet, but I'm confident that he will open up when he realizes that this is his house and that no one will hurt him here.

I may give you updates as things go on but I'm thinking of starting a second blog just for my adventures with River. I'll let you know.

PS: I haven't got the contact information for the graphic artist yet, he was on vacation last week but is coming in tonight. I'll try and book a meeting this week or next, and I'll let you know how it all turns out.