We grieved
Hannah's Death for a long time, always talking about getting another dog as if it was a long ways off in the future. And then, right around Christmas time, the talk began to be more concrete.
We've talked about a puppy. But is now the right time for a puppy with the kids so young and Alex still potty training? If we got a puppy, how do we find a breeder? If we adopt an adult dog, what are we looking for?
We started researching. Having conversations. Putting out feelers. We still hadn't made a decision on which way to go, but I felt that whichever opportunity came our way first, we would know that was the right one.
And then. Then, one Sunday, I got two emails. One from a breeder offering puppies this spring and asking if we were interested. And another from American Brittany Rescue saying they had a liver and white female in Oklahoma who needed a home. They were already arranging a flight to Minnesota for another dog and could add her to the transport.
We wouldn't get to meet her ahead of time. We would do a "foster-to-adopt," and hope it all worked out.
Here are the pictures they sent me of the Oklahoma girl. She was gorgeous.
I was leaning towards adopting this girl, and told Matt that if he really wanted a puppy instead, it was up to him to say that, especially since being the one at home all day, he would be taking the primarily caregiving responsibility. He didn't say so ... and in the end Victoria sealed the deal by saying she wanted an adult dog "who won't chew my toys as much." (True, Victoria. And wise.)
We asked more questions about her. She had been found on a guy's property, along with another Britt. He assumed they had been dropped off there by someone who knew he had Britts himself. He kept them for several months (presumably to see if they were a good fit) before deciding to rehome them.
Her name? ANNA.
When I got the email that said her name, I got chills down my spine.
It was a sign. Hannah had sent her to me.
Matt's response: It's too close to Hannah's name.
We still decided to take her. In the couple weeks of waiting for her transport to be arranged, I pointed out to Victoria that the name "Anna" could be found in the middle of the name "Hannah." My Ms. V practiced writing and spelling Anna's name.
Finally we heard that a pilot from the Cities could go down to Oklahoma to get these girls on a cold February day.
Matt had plans that day. My dad offered to accompany us.
I loaded the kids up in the car in the morning, and we were so excited for our big adventure!
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| Off to get our new girl! |
We had just enough time when we got to the Cities to stop at Auntie Karen's house for Victoria to present her with her belated birthday gift.
Victoria had hatched this plan when Karen visited us in December. A hand painted travel coffee mug "because Auntie Karen loves coffee," painted in pink and black, "because I know those are her favorite colors." It included a black shirt with a pink heart "just like Auntie Karen wore when she came to visit."
Victoria was so proud and so pleased at how much her Auntie loved it!
Then, off to Flying Cloud Airport in Eden Prairie! It was a flurry when we got there. Bill's plane had already landed, the other Britt on her way to her family. All of a sudden, there was an extremely timid, petite, and very stinky Brittany in front of us.
We loved her immediately. Although scared of her own shadow, we could tell she had some spunk. She was immensely adorable.
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| Getting ready to leave the airport and head home! |
Bill, the pilot, was one of the nicest, most genuine and generous people I have ever met. I was awed at his willingness to spend an entire Saturday on this rescue mission. The world is indeed full of good people.
We put Anna in the suburban. Here is how she spent most of the ride home:
Curious enough to watch out the window, but too shy to interact with us.
I mentioned that she was smelly. She had a horrible case of diarrhea. Thankfully she didn't have any accidents in the car, but she reeked something terrible. Not the worst thing I've ever smelled, but not pleasant either. (We would later find out this was a whipworm infestation. Treatable ... but annoying.)
The drive home flew by, thanks to my dad's company. We dropped him off in Cloquet and came home to Matt, who agreed the first thing Anna needed was a bath. Poor girl -- taken away from something familiar, put on an airplane, shifted from person to person, and then dumped in a bathtub.
She was wearing this disgusting collar. It went straight in the trash.
That evening, she paced a ton. Couldn't relax. Finally laid briefly on the couch, wet fur and all, next to Piper, who has become her safety net:
Although scared, she would approach me briefly for attention:
The next morning, she consented to attention from Victoria. We noticed right away that she was slightly less skittish around the kids than adults.
Over the next several days, she became Piper's shadow and started to get used to the Moses household routines.
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| Matt sent me this picture while I was at work. |
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| Mom! Let us in! |
A couple weeks later, I sent the below stories to the ABR coordinator:
Hi Terry (and I'm copying Bill too),
Just thought I would update you on Ms. Anna. As I write this, she is cracking me up by attempting to lay next to our other dog, Piper, on the couch, in a spot that is clearly too small. So far her endeavors have resulted in her back legs sprawled across Piper's head, and in her almost falling off the edge of the couch. haha!
First, some of the nitty gritty details ... Terry, I know I owe you pictures for the microchip. I think I finally got a couple that will work. Anna moves around a lot and is almost always near Piper and doesn't like the phone pointing at her -- so that has been a challenge. The pictures are on my phone so I'll send them separately. Also, she was spayed last week, and all her vaccinations were done at the same time. I have invoices to send you for that. She is all healed from the whipworms and seems super healthy!
Now for some of the fun stuff. We have discovered that Anna is super sweet, smart, and a bit of a sheister! She loves attention all.the.time. Loves and kisses are her specialty, preferably when she can approach you from the side or from behind you and doubly preferably when she can jump up on you. She's not a fan of sitting on my lap (I keep telling her she can get petted longer that way but she doesn't believe me!). If we try to approach her directly, she is a bit skittish -- face-to-face meetings are uncomfortable. She loves everyone in our family but is skittish around strangers.
Like most dogs, her favorite spots for petting are neck, chin, behind the ears, and tummy. Speaking of tummy, she did great after being spayed and never even tried to bother her incision!
She is a licker. She gives kisses, but will also lick your hands and toes and anything else she can. Including "helping" me dry off when I come out of the shower. She has also discovered remarkably quickly that if she follows me to the bathroom I will pet her when I'm in there. I laugh when I get up to go to the bathroom and find she is right behind me. So smart!
She learned the command "sit" within a few tries. She may have had some training in it before, but it only took a couple commands from me, then watching Piper get a bone when she sat. Anna quickly decided she would sit too and get the same treats. I think she also learned the command "leave it" previously. We were playing fetch last night and every time I said "leave it" she dropped the toy. She wasn't house trained when she arrived (and also was terrified of the tv and couldn't go up the stairs). It took a few weeks of constant monitoring (and cleaning up lots of accidents) to get a handle on the house training. I admit that was frustrating, particularly when we had to try to keep her near us while we "snuggled" with the kids at bedtime. For a bit, it seemed endless and perhaps hopeless. And then -- surprise! She seemed to catch on and now (if you watch very closely as she is very subtle) will even tell us when she needs to go outside. She hasn't had an accident in days. We are soooo proud!
She's great at sleeping at night. We kennel her at night and she doesn't complain -- at all. She sleeps straight through the night, quiet as a mouse.
She adores Piper. She clearly needed to come someplace with another dog :). She follows Piper around the house, does what Piper does, and snuggles with her whether on the couch or floor. Sometimes Piper will sit and "ask" for a bone and Anna will do it too but we swear she has no idea what she is asking for ... simply that she is doing what Piper does!
Outside, she runs freely and happily and looks very puppy-ish. It's fun to watch her run without a care. She doesn't care as much about the birds and squirrels as Piper does, but loves to run!
Oh, and the sheister part! She loves to steal things she shouldn't! Silly puppy! The kids' stuffed animals, family slippers, a sticker she found on the floor, a wet pull-up (ewww). Most stuff she only tries once and then learns she isn't supposed to touch. A couple stuffed animals she has tried repeatedly. It's pretty cute to see her learn her boundaries. The only thing that was potentially dangerous was the pull-up she chewed up (all that silicone and absorbent stuff!). This was the morning she was scheduled to go to the vet anyway, so they monitored her and she threw up all the stuff she had ingested. Thank god. Good lesson for the kids -- they have been absolutely diligent about putting stuff RIGHT into the garbage. I love that my kids are good puppy caretakers!
So, needless to say, we are loving Anna. Total sweetheart, and (as with our dogs) we are left wondering why anyone would abandon her. Gotta love Brittanies and how soulful they are, how amazing with their families.
I mentioned her first night, how she was scared of the tv. Here is a brief video clip:
It's now been over two months. I have a ton of puppy pictures that I will try to post when I have more time.
Today, though, I can announce that we have decided to make Anna a permanent member of the family. No more foster status for her! We have the adoption paperwork and just need to send it in. She is cute and funny and soft and playful and we are overjoyed that Hannah did indeed send her to us.
Welcome Anna!
