My Little Dog Is A Little Hoarse

doppler-on-helaine's-shoulder

Doppler leads the good life. Her biggest daily decision is stay asleep or roll on her back for a belly rub? She barks sparingly.

That probably hasn’t been the case the past few days. After spending time couchsurfing with Bentley at Steve and Cheryl’s, Doppler moved on to sleepover camp. Camp features daily (and probably nightly) concerts with all the pups.

Doppler came home hoarse! This is a new one for me. Helaine caught on first when we got her around 7:00 AM. I heard it distinctly this afternoon as Doppler announced a neighbor at our door.

“Do you think she wants a lozenge,” Helaine asked this evening?

A few days rest and Doppler will be good as new. She’s working on that right now.

A Year With Doppler

Recently, I was asked to write an article for CT Pet Lovers. I thought I’d share it with you here.

Tomorrow marks one year since I sent an email to the Wallingford Animal Shelter. They had advertised a dog up for adoption via petfinder.com.

My wife and I are interested in adopting a dog. Could you tell us more about Mr Buttons – – age, size, temperament?

All the best,
Geoff Fox

Yeah, I know. Mr. Buttons? Not the perfect name.

As it turned out Mr. Buttons had already been adopted. We found that a lot on petfinder.com, nearly every dog we wrote about was no longer available.

No worries. There’s never a shortage of dogs waiting to be adopted at local shelters!

Here’s the email I got in response from Marci at the Wallingford shelter.

We do also have two Maltipoos, a male and a female, that are not online yet. We have not put them up yet because they needed a little TLC. They were abandoned, blocked in a baseball field dugout. They were very thin, their coats were matted to their skin and their nails were to the point of curling. The poor things were sad and scared. After a good bath and haircut, and a much needed pedicure, two new, happy dogs appeared!. They are the sweetest. They are socialable and love everyone. Their names are Wilbur (who is the smaller of the two) and Charlotte.

Helaine and I had already decided on our ideal dog. There weren’t many qualifications.

She… yes, our dog would be a girl… would need to be small enough to travel under an airline seat. We wanted a young dog, but not an outright puppy. Everyone wants a dog that’s house trained. Us too.

I headed to the shelter on Monday. That’s when I met the two dogs which would become Doppler and Bentley. Their temporary quarters was a bathroom where they were isolated from the other dogs waiting for homes.

I picked up Charlotte. It was love at first sight.

Helaine was a little apprehensive when I told her I’d found our dog. She knew it’s tough to hold a dog then say, “no.”

I committed to adopt Charlotte right then, but I was on my way to work. She would have to remain in the joint until Helaine and I could pick her up on Friday.

We did come back and it was love at first sight for Helaine too!

As I was to learn, bringing home a new puppy wasn’t terribly different than bringing home a baby. We headed to Petco and said “Fill ‘er up!”

Charlotte had become Doppler.

We set up sleeping areas and napping areas and relaxing areas and eating areas. Doppler quickly caught on. That first night she slept in the bed with Helaine and me.

There were a few accidents, but just a few. As it turned out we’d hit the dog lottery, Doppler was a house trained, non-food begging, non-shedding rescue!

We assume from her continued laid back demeanor, Doppler is just as happy to be here as we are to have her!

If you’re wondering what happened to Charlotte’s tiny brother, Wilbur, he became Bentley and was adopted the same day by our friends Cheryl and Steve.

And they all lived happily ever after.

Blogger’s note: When Helaine read this she noticed some errors relating to times and dates. The blog entry has been updated to correct the errors.

Doppler Gets Her Fur Cut

As of last week Doppler was getting awfully big! She hadn’t been to the groomer in nine weeks and it was really showing. She had graduated from “World’s Softest Dog” to “World’s Fluffiest Dog.”

What we didn’t understand was her long time between cuts made it more difficult for us to brush her properly. That led to a tangle of matted fur near her body. Problem solved with a clip very close to her skin.

It’s warm so that’s not a problem. She also looks more puppyesque with her shorter coif.

How Doppler Gets Treats

We are all creatures of habit, certainly Doppler! When she senses she’s getting a treat she’ll hop up on the sofa until she gets a good look.

We are all creatures of habit, certainly Doppler! When she senses she’s getting a treat she’ll hop up on the sofa until she gets a good look. Then she runs into her crate where she impatiently awaits something tasty.

Here’s video proof.