Oh No...I Adopted a Dog!

 Hubby has a toy poodle, Selena that is now 16 years old. I say that he has because the poodle absolutely loves and adores him. It is kinda cute except for the extremely high pitched yipping when he pulls in the driveway that shatters eardrums within a 80 km radius. 

My Schnoodle (good grief he was a good mutt, darn these fartsy names) died nearly 5 years ago. I have a cat, Asmodeus who doesn't really understand what it means to be a cat. He is the one that goes for walks, goes in shopping carts at the Pet store to pick out toys (his), and has travelled extensively throughout the province of Ontario sitting on the console in the truck and goes camping with us. He is exceptionally bright and social and lovable and loving and totally a Mummy's cat but somehow he just isn't a dog. And if you have/had a dog and a cat then maybe you get what I mean. 

I know I didn't want a puppy. I know that our poodle could not stand a puppy. But hubby and I had discussed an older dog half-heartedly. A co-worker came across a couple of strays - buddies I guess. A shepherd mix and a Westie which he took to the animal shelter. I was a tad interested in the Westie but didn't like the thought of splitting up the two buddies. My co-worker said the Westie was chipped so I figured it was only a matter of time before the owner of the dynamic furry duo was located. But curious I went to the shelter website and checked them out under strays and they were front and centre. Then I did something...you know....one of those...SOMETHING. I checked out the Adoption page and call it fate, kismet, holy intervention, the finger of God pointing at moi but yep...there was a dog. Yike. I left the site. I returned later in the morning, the stray duo were now off (likely homeward bound), and I peeked at the dog again. You get where I am going with this right?

Oh sure. I have browsed the page in the past and other shelter adoption pages too but....there it was...a dog. A dog that for whatever reason...I wanted. THE dog. It was a black purebred Chow Chow,  male and he was 9 years old. A bit older than we had discussed. There were two pictures, one showing him as the typical snotty regal Chow Chow but the second showed a dog with a twinkle in his eye and a stance of mischief or ready to engage in play. Sealed it.  I texted the hubby to check the Chow Chow out. But then I realized he was not neutered and texted the hubby nevermind. And I felt kinda sad. Our poodle is not spayed. My hubby didn't want to, Selena was a tiny pup and he is a big softie so that was that. Yeah...I was sad. 

When hubby came home I was still a little blue. I've always loved Chow Chows but never come close to owning one.  I showed him the Chow Chow's profile and that was when I noticed a paragraph at the top of the web page. It said that all adoptions included mandatory spaying or neutering. 

REALLY?

So we phoned and he was still there...so we loaded up Selena and we loaded up Asmodeus for a play date at the shelter. It went extremely well. 

My Chow Chow is wearing a cone, his name is Quon Shen which roughly means "Bright Spirit" and I don't know what his back story is but he is exceptionally well trained. I am able to slack leash him and the simple command "Leave it" has him ignoring most neighborhood dogs (some he just loves and chow-chow talks until I let them meet and do the doggie sniff introduction). He socializes well with other dogs when I allow him to interact, ignores squirrels and cats although lightening bugs confused him at first. In ten days he will have a bath. He is very matted so I've taken the time to brush him out about 15 minutes daily so he doesn't get bored or fed up with it while he is recovering from the Royal Snippet. (Poor fellow can only put up with so much) He still has a bit of kennel smell so he needs a "freshening". I have been reading a lot about Chow Chows to better understand his mindset but the most important thing is how he wags his tail when he is with me and how he is able to step out with his new "pack" and has accepted us as his peoples. It is very humbling to be loved by a dog that has come to you when he lost everything. 

I feel honoured to have him and I am working hard at providing him with a confident owner that he can trust to direct him. I told him a CP3O joke about 3 days ago and he only stared at me with golden brown eyes and his big bear face. I told him a Stargate joke today (a humorous observation actually) and this time he opened his mouth to pant but...I think he was actually laughing. 

I know that he is a bit old but I decided that youth does not necessarily guarantee longevity and have adopted the saying: "Better to have loved and lost then never to have loved at all". If you love something, time should be irrelevant. I loved a cat once that when I had to have him put to sleep I grieved terribly and it made me reluctant to take on and love another as dearly. It took time but then along came Asmodeus. He is very different from my Long John Silver. As much as Long John's death made me sad in the long run I was grateful to have had his love...and so...love is always worth having and giving and should be about the moment. Uh-oh...somebody is whining for a walk...and its not my hubby. Gotta go. 

Maybe Quon Shen would appreciate a Chewbacca joke more...