My boyfriend and I made it to Goldendale on Saturday just in time to check into the dog-friendly motel and give Toni a call. We met at her office and she brought three candidates for us to meet. She said she brought a little boy named Newman who was not on my list, but she still wanted me to meet him, because she felt he was perfect. The other two were named Emily (female, of course) and Cisco (large male). Cisco had nearly died in his past and had been 40 pounds overweight.
Here's how it went:
Newman was very timid. He's afraid of people, especially men, because he was beaten with a broom. He'd been at the rescue for at least 1.5 years now. Toni said this could be, in part, because he was more timid/shy and he was not macho with a big Rottie head. Anyway, Newman got along great with Betti and Pepe (my boyfriend's long-haired Chihuahua).
Then we tried out Cisco and Emily. Emily was raised with a female pit bull, so she was a candidate having been around another female. Cisco was a mellow boy. When Emily met Betti she was happy and knelt into a play bow, but Betti--due to her negative experiences with Greta--got scared and lunged, teeth bared, toward Emily. So that was out.
Cisco immediately mounted Betti and he weighed about 120 pounds (at least). Betti's eyes bulged out and her little face contorted into this "please get him off me" look.
In essence, Betti made the decision...and Pepe, too. Newman was chosen by Toni because she felt he would be perfect for us, but she didn't tell us about him--he was a surprise. She has over 50 Rotties and so much experience she really knew how to place him in the right home...and he's been waiting for a while.
He's a shy boy, but he settled right in to the motel the first night, went out for potty breaks, rode home in the car (5 hours), and explored the house. He is so excited to see me every time I come home he leaps around and wiggles and whines and does the lick monster routine.
I'll post photos soon.
Oh, and he and Betti do a dance. It's just like Flamenco. They stomp and their movements are deliberate and rigid. They turn their heads. Then stomp. Then spin. Then stomp. Then bow. Then move around each other like dancers.