We almost made it…

Spouse and I knew that, as miserable as we were without Kiwi, it wouldn’t be long before we adopted another dog.

I thought we’d make it past New Year’s. I really did.

And it’s a good thing I didn’t put money on that. LOL But unlike when we lost Gidget and only made it four days, this time we made it four whole weeks. And losing Kiwi as suddenly as we did knocked me on my ass emotionally. (I don’t do grief well at all.) Which is why Bleacke Shifters 9 and 10 are running a few weeks late. (I’m working on final edits on 9 now.)

I’d been watching shelter adoption pages and kept coming back to this guy, and one other, from a nearby shelter in the next county. So after Spouse and I both had emotional meltdowns on Christmas from not having a dog, we decided to visit shelters. This was the longest stretch of time in over 27 years that I haven’t had a dog, and I’m finally admitting that yes, I am the kind of person who needs to have a dog in their life. I’ve had dogs all my life.

When we walked into the kennel area with the shelter tech, literally this guy was in THE first kennel run by the door. (Apparently he was also a staff favorite. LOL) We met him, then walked around and looked at other dogs, but came back to him.

Introducing Buffett (formerly Buford). He’s an 8-year-old mixed breed (probably Boxer, Lab, and either AmStaff or pitty) with heartworms. We adopted him from Animal Services in the next county over on Tuesday, 12/26, and his heartworm treatment will be underwritten by a sponsor. We weren’t aware of it at the time, but they were running an adoption special, so his fee was just $10 for the rabies tag. (And yes, one of our past foster-fails 20+ years ago was a bulldog with heartworms. I used to work at an animal shelter and they’d called me after I stopped working there to ask if I’d foster her, and that was our sweet Bubbles.)

He’s about sixty pounds and we already knew from the shelter notes that he was good with cats and other dogs. (Chickens, not so much. But we don’t have chickens, so that’s fine.) Apparently he was originally brought to the shelter in June, adopted at some point, then returned at the beginning of December because of the whole “chicken thing,” as we’ll call it. LOL (The adopter raises chickens and sells eggs, so that’s kind of a problem.) But the shelter tech who handled the adoption for us said she’d been the one to personally take him back in and the adopter was distraught that she had to return him, and that he was an amazing dog other than the “chicken thing.”

He’s a very sweet boy, and he’s already been to a dog park and had a blast. He’s so far been great with our cats, who are learning to trust him, and we’re slowly introducing him to Sheldon.

I’ve already crocheted him a sweater, too. (Not my best work, but he likes it.) And just in time for our first hard cold snap of winter, too.

It’s been a while since we’ve had a big dog, and one who actually likes going places and meeting people (and other dogs). Kiwi did NOT like change, or travel. Or people. Or other dogs. LOL She was okay with close friends of ours, but in public? Nope. And Buffett LOVES to ride in the car. And he’s discovered he loves whipped cream. (Okay, so I give him a little bit in a dish. He’s an old boy–he’s earned it.)

Buffett (as in Jimmy) also got to go to Ace Hardware and a quick drop-by at our vet to get him weighed and a rabies tag for our county (he came with the one for the county next door, where we adopted him from).

He’ll break my heart the way all my furbabies break my heart, but hopefully we’ll have many good years with him, and we’ll spoil him rotten. He’s learning to love being a couch potato. Right now, he’s either in his crate (thank goodness I kept our old crates from when we had big dogs) or on a leash attached to me or whatever I’m sitting on, usually the couch, and snuggled next to me. This is something I’ve always done when introducing a new dog to the household, to give the cats time to adjust and to give the dog time to adjust.

When we first got him home, I sat on the kitchen floor with him and finally had the hard ugly cry over Kiwi that I’d been holding in. And he sat there and gave me a big old sloppy kiss and snuggled with me.

And he’s got his own Instagram account now, if you want to follow him: https://www.instagram.com/buffettthebrindle/

I hope everyone has a safe and blessed New Year’s celebration, and I’ll be bringing you more updates soon.

Don’t forget, you can pre-order Bleacke Shifters 9 & 10 directly from my online store at a discount! CLICK HERE