Then I heard about the Saving Paws Halloween fundraiser earlier this week. When I asked Adam if he wanted to go, he poked around their available pets and found that they had some beagles. Wednesday night while I was at IMA he went to their foster home to meet them. Although her teeth somehow found a way onto his chin, he was taken by Tinkerbell even though we originally thought we’d be more interested in Sugar, her sister. On a side note, he doesn’t seem to have much luck with meeting pets – when we first met Ted and Conner he was scratched by both Conner and another three-legged cat that was wandering around. Anyway, Thursday night we went back up together to check them out. And being the big softies we are, please meet the newest member of the Paalman household:
She’s 10 weeks old. A beagle/hound mix. We shortened her name to Bella since Tinkerbell was just too much for me. Plus, isn’t she cute?
We introduced her to her cousin Lulu on Thursday night. While Bella was eager to play, Lulu apparently isn’t much for doggie interaction and took to flopping on the floor and rolling on her back. Whatever works. We also stopped up at Adam’s parent’s house. His mom is still laid up a bit from her hamstring injury, but they both got some puppy love. We spent some time in Petsmart getting all the things a dog requires. We met Rachel, the dog trainer Katie and Chris recommended (we start puppy training November 15th), and she helped us pick out the crate and food. Bella charmed her by barfing at her feet. Awesome. Since there hasn’t been a repeat performance we figure it was nerves (or maybe the random food that was on the floor that she ate.) After spending a ridiculous amount of money we headed back home.
I got home before Adam and started unloading the car (we had taken two cars since I drove up to meet him after work.) Then Adam passed the leash off to me and I walked her around the backyard while he assembled the crate. She got cold after a little bit and although she seemed to enjoy attacking the leaves, I brought her into the house to warm up. JC was standing in the dining room when I let Bella in the house. He eyed her suspiciously, crept towards her. She was bouncing around, apparently oblivious to the fact that she was being hunted. She paused for a moment and JC sniffed her and then bonked her on the head with his paw. She was unaffected by this assault and just ran around the kitchen. JC hid under the table. Ted and Conner were nowhere to be found.
We got the crate arranged, took her out once more and then said goodnight. She whined. She howled. She barked. She cried. But after about 15 minutes she quieted down. An occasional sad yip and then nothing. She was quiet until about quarter to six this morning. Pretty impressive. Adam was afraid he’d have to sleep with earplugs.
When we got up yesterday morning, Adam took her outside while I arranged her food and water. She had managed to last the whole night without making a mess in her crate. She bounded back in, a ball of energy. She continued to explore the house while stopped to grab a mouthful of food every once in a while. JC once again warily followed her around for awhile and hit her once or twice. She really doesn’t seem to mind. She sniffs him and then moves on. She did have one accident on the carpet by the fireplace, but it was relatively easy to clean up. Much easier than cat poo… I took a shower while Adam occupied her. He took her for a longer walk around the park. When I was dressed and eating breakfast Adam hopped in the shower. I was kept busy trying to keep Bella from eating the cat’s food. I took her out once while Adam was in the bathroom since she started whining by the door. She peed outside! Yay!
I left for work, leaving Adam to deal with her final trip(s) outside and confining her for the day. He called me a couple times this morning. Apparently Bella met Wags, the cute dog from next door and their new dog, a golden lab.
I went home for lunch since Adam called to tell me that he forgot to put the cat’s food back on the floor after moving it up to prevent the dog from eating it. I had also forgotten to bring the wad of cash I collected at IMA on Wednesday that I needed to deposit into the bank. I had to go into the bedroom where the crate is so I probably made the dog a little more hyper than she might have been. She was still howling away when I left to return to work. JC was hiding under the table again. He definitely doesn’t like the dog noises. Conner, on the other hand, was sleeping at the foot of our bed, completely unaffected by the ruckus. He’s getting to be such a mellow cat. I stopped to use the bathroom before leaving and as I walked by he just lifted his head a bit, (in my mind, said “oh, it’s you”) and went back to sleep. This with the dog freaking out in the background.
Last night was a little rough. I got home from work and went to get Bella to take her out. Between when I checked on her at lunch and when I got home she had managed to crap in her cage and roll around in it. I took her outside for a while wherein she managed to get all wet (it was raining) and jump all over me, covering me in wet dog and poop. I carried her back inside to avoid too much of a mess and took her directly to the bathroom. I gave her her first bath, unofficially since we didn't have shampoo yet. She wasn't thrilled and kept trying to jump out of the bathtub. I dried her off as best I could and let her out. She was crazy. I put her dinner out, which she completely ignored. I fed the cats except none of them would venture out past the barking. Bella was more interested in their food than her own. JC kept trying to get into the dirty crate. I was getting increasingly frustrated, so I called Adam and asked him to come home early. Which he did.
He took her for a walk. I cleaned up the mess she made when I stuck her in her room for a few minutes so I wouldn't commit a crime. I started to clean up the mess in her crate but soon realized we'd need to take it downstairs to the utility sink to get it clean. We decided to feed the cats after we put Bella in her crate for the evening. She finally calmed down a bit and we were able to watch a couple of the shows on the DVR. All three cats appeared at some point in the evening. None of them have gotten very close to the dog, but they're aware of her presence. We put her in her crate around 9. She barked again. For four hours. Then we got about three hours of quiet and then she was at it again. We finally gave up and got up around 5:30.
Adam took her out for a walk around the block while I got her food ready. This morning has been ok. Not spectacular. She's spent some time chewing on things, taunting the cats, being annoying. She peed a bit in the hallway. Adam took her up to Petsmart again to get a few things we forgot and was able to chat a bit with a vet who was there. We're now armed with bitter apple spray and chew toys.
It's going to take patience though. I know I don't do well when I get little to no sleep. I have a constant headache and I get crabby. We'll see how it goes.
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