Bella, my harlequin Great Dane, came to us as a three-month old puppy from a family who was adopting her out in Craigslist. My trainer's wife, Sandra, knew that I was looking for a big dog to adopt now that Pumba was more socialized and she happened to see their ad. Sandra quickly referred me to the family and I emailed them about taking a look at their dog then named Gracie. I emailed to ask them some questions (and to get pics!) of course, but I mostly did it as a courtesy to Sandra. I big dog of preference was an English mastiff and that was what I was looking around for. Why, you might ask? Well, I think it has mostly to do with the expected life span. Great danes, out of all the big dogs that I know of, have the shortest average life span. So, despite my wanting a great dane back in my high school and college days, I just wasn't ready to commit to a relationship which I knew may last only seven years.
Of course, that all changed when I got a glimpse of then Gracie. Tom, her previous owner sent me several pictures, but this is the one that captured my heart:
After seeing that picture, I was determined to see her in real life. I called Tom and arranged a meeting. I remember having family over that weekend, but I didn't care. They can come with me to meet this cute dog. But of course...there was the matter of my boyfriend. He's been heavily involved in the training and care of my dog, Pumba. I would surely need to consult with him about adopting another dog. Right?
So I did. I asked if it's okay if I see the dog in the above picture, whose owners were trying to adopt her out. She was growing a little too fast for their little girl, her vet bills are a little too high, and with the Mom losing her job, Gracie just became a bit too much for them to handle. So they were looking for someone who would adopt her. I told this all to James and his response was:
"You know that if you go over there and look at this dog, chances are you're gonna want to do more than look."
Of course, I insisted that we're just looking and he and I will
both decide in the end. But deep down in my heart, I knew he was right. I'm such a sucker. Of course, it helped that in my conversations with Tom he described "Gracie" as a dog who "never knew a stranger." So, I thought to myself, she's gotta be super nice as well as cute, right?
My mom and her two brothers were visiting me at the time when I had made the appointment to see my possibly new dog. And they, along with James drove about an hour with me to go see her. We met her family and played with her for an hour. James and I did talk (for less than a minute) outside the family's home. And we both agreed. We loved that dog. Here's a picture of my mom in the car as we were taking her home with us:
See those huge paws? She was around thirty pounds in that picture. And yes, she was the sweetie that I expected her to be. I think in the end, she helped Pumba out a lot and showing him how to just be a dog. She's been a good influence to both him and me.
It's been such a joy to be able to take both of them to doggie events.
In the end, I feel so lucky to have known people like Sandra and Mike, who knew what I needed.
Bella + Pumba = Love
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