Thanks for the welcome all!
We got Riko for a few reasons
My kids have been wanting a dog for over a year but I was hesitant b/c I'm scared of dogs in general and having only had cats REALLY scared of sccoping poop!
, also, based on their responsibility track record with cats and fish, I knew the dog would be theirs in name only!!!
Still I was doing research on different breeds to find a good fit. At the same time I was checking the humane society and 'free dog to good home' pages regularly...al
l our animals are rescued, even the fish!
Last Friday, someone walked into our home and stole some items in less than 5 minutes as I walked to the dumpster. That did it. I felt if we had a dog, even a chihuahua, it would have warned the kids (luckily they were upstairs and didn't hear anything). We had to get a dog THAT WEEKEND.
As fate would have it, Saturday afternoon I saw an ad for 'free to a good home' on craigslist. It was Riko. There was no pic and a very short description. I immediately called and emailed the owner, and looked up Aussies, which we hadn't really considered before because we don't live on a ranch
Although I was nervous we might not have enough space, I arranged a meet up.
At first sight, he was the sweetest dog I have ever been around (this from an avowed cat lover) I felt no fear, and the kids were drawn to him instantly. He is older, and well trained (great for first timers like us!). His owner had him in a space the same size as mine and was very sorry to see him go. He's a purebreed (not a priority for us), but she gave him totally free. Most FTGH ads here mention a small (or not so small) rehoming fee. It always made me wonder about their true motivation for rehoming the dog
Anywho, he is on antibiotics for an infection and overweight. One of the reasons the owner was so happy was b/c my kids are the right age to play and romp and dote on him, as hers are already grown and gone (I think that's why he's overweight, that and her chihuahua was the fattest thing I've ever seen ---too much love+not enough time for exercise). She called twice the same day to check on him, and passed along the info for his regular vet. She encouraged me to call for his history and said she'd take him back for any reason, no questions asked if we wanted, so that makes me think she's not just trying to 'dump' a sick animal (of course, that could be a common ploy, i dunno)...
We are feeding him less and taking long walks with some uphill sprints to get him back in shape (he is slow and breathes heavy b/c of the extra weight and age I think). The vet should call me back tomorrow, I really hope he doesn't have a serious illness because we're all so attached already and I hope we have many wonderful years ahead with him.
Thanks for the advice, btw...I will look for citronella spray this weekend.
The big pitt is the manager's dog
I don't want to start trouble, so we just try to avoid the routes and times i've seen it take (the manager could handle him but it's always his teeny tiny wife being drug along behind...dunno why)
The rott has actually been curiously absent all week...we avoid his house too, but he's the fence jumper, never know where he'll turn up!
I got a long handled claw scooper...we'll see how it goes...
I don't complain about the poopers b/c odds are our cat has done the same to them. It's a good point about disease though, and looks of scorn!
Thanks again for the welcome guys, i'll post pics when I figure out how (and replace the camera that was stolen
)
