Bringing Snickers Home

Here's our little Snickers. When we went to meet her, it was a two and a half hour drive. It was a beautiful fall day and we looked forward to seeing the colors and the cliffs along the Mississippi River. We found Snickers at the shelter along with other dogs looking for homes. Some were older, some were outdoor dogs, and there were a couple other little dogs like Snickers. Snickers had just been bathed and seemed very anxious to please. The woman at the shelter told me to walk her around to get to know her. I immediately noticed a limp in her left rear leg. I commented about it to the woman and was told that the previous owner claimed that her leg was closed in a door. She thought we would be lucky if that was all that was wrong with her. I looked at my husband and he immediately said, "I don't care. We want her".
Did I tell you how lucky I am to be married to such a man? The last time I told him to be careful about caring too much in case we lose her, he responded by smiling and gently saying, "That's like telling me not to love you too much". What do you say to that? We took this little girl home after learning she had been a house dog for five months, was house trained, but then left outside for about three months before being turned in to the shelter. Snickers was frightened about what was happening to her. I had brought a warm beach towel along and new dog collar. I took off her old collar and replaced it with her new one, then wrapped her in the towel, and we took her home. She curled up in my lap and shook all the way home. Poor thing. We stopped on the way to let her walk and drink some water.
Once we got Snickers home, we introduced her to her new yard, food and water dish, toys and treats. She didn't eat or drink much the first day. She wouldn't let us out of her sight. You could see that she was studying us and wondering who we were and where she was. She never cried about coming with us and moving in to her new home. She didn't bark or growl or snap. This puppy was nearly nine months old, 12 pounds, and as gentle a soul as you could hope to find.
Because she came from a shelter, she was up to date on her shots, and had been spayed. There was a $100 fee which was very reasonable. We thought that would be our big expense unless her limp was more than just an accident with a door.
Next post will be our first trip to the vet.