She made us a pack

I have some updating to do.  I no longer have a “pretend puppy.”

Part of the reason we moved to this new apartment (which we love) was so that we could finally realize our dream of owning a dog.  And after lots of back and forth, and countless emails with “how about her?” and a billion other considerations considered, we picked a dog. We knew we wanted to adopt from a shelter, and I knew I was taking some vacation time from work to help the dog acclimate – so instead of going to the wonderful North Shore Animal Shelter, we found a truly wonderful rescue group called “Bobbi and the Strays.”  The amazing coordinator there helped us pick out a pup that would be happy in our apartment and match our requirements for aesthetics, temperment and activity level.

Eva was our girl.  She’s a bit overweight (at 90 lbs.!) and a little older than we had planned – but that fits perfectly with living an apartment. We think she’s probably some sort of Shepherd-Akita-heeler mix. She’s no puppy, and is happy kind of lazing around, with some bursts of activity. We went to go meet her at the facility’s JFK Vetport (only a temporary shelter – they are looking for a new space) and … this was it. She was sweet and smiley and her ears were too cute. She had absolutely zero food aggression, liked playing  fetch and was affectionate. She has had some run-ins with other dogs at the shelter, and while she loves people – loving other dogs may take some work.

She has been there almost a year. I can kind of understand why – she’s a big dog. And here in Queens, that’s tough (and as we are finding out, a lot more expensive to own a large dog). She’s older (people like puppies) and apparently, black dogs get adopted less than any other coloring.

So, she’s all ours.

One of my favorite cutie-pie things about her (beside her always-wagging tail and cute little white bootie-feet) is that whenever she lays down, she crosses her front legs. Such a lady!

Today is the first day she came home, and she is really adorable and clingy. She naps a lot, follows us underfood, watches intently when we eat (but doesn’t beg) and farts and snores. Also, within hours – belly rubs.

I don’t think I will be able to relax and have it really sink in until after our vet appointment on Monday – but until then? I don’t remember being this happy in a long, long time.

Love dogs? Help this great organization find more homes for cutie-pies like Eva. Please consider donating to Bobbi and the Strays.

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Tagged as: Eva