(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . My second dog! [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-11-30 My first dog, Ginger: gone, but will never ever be forgotten. First, let me say how grateful I am for the emotional support I received for a story I wrote in August about my first dog, Ginger (www.dailykos.com/...) who I lost at that time. I have read and re-read many comments in my diary many times. I wanted to reply to all of them, but it just choked me up every time I started to read them. I will read them all again. When I take walks, sometimes I talk to Ginger, and tell her how much I miss her. I’ve told her that she can never be replaced, and then I shed a tear or two. Since Ginger died, my wife has been on the lookout for another puppy, searching rescue sites for a smaller breed puppy. There have been such puppies available for adoption in the past, but not recently. We both agreed that the Universe would let us know the right time and the right puppy. (And it really had to be a puppy.) I had not done any searching at all…I just couldn’t. Then, about two weeks ago, I went for a walk, and a voice (well, not an *audible* one, but a voice nonetheless) told me to look for a cairn terrier puppy as soon as I got home. And I did. And I found one from a breeder somewhat close by. My/our plan wasn’t to get one from a breeder, but I still felt that I had to get this puppy. I contacted the breeder, paid a deposit, and was told that she would be ready around December 2. But on Nov 15, the breeder called and said that the puppy would be 8 weeks on the 18th, had a clean vet report, and I could get her on the 19th if I wanted. Did I! I made arrangements for her to be delivered that Sunday, and I paid the remaining total. Oh, I saw a short video of the puppy, and the name “Polly” popped in my head. No idea where it came from. Perhaps from the Kinks song, but no idea. So in the meantime, I start to wonder if I did the right thing. Will she be friendly, will she like us, will she sleep during the night without howling (and until she is potty trained, she would be in a crate). Those and every other fear I could have, I did. Then, she arrived. The driver handed her over to me, and she licked my face…and peed on my shirt. We brought her in and she immediately found her brand new toys and started running around the house with them. Never even the slightest hesitation in her behavior…she knew she was in her forever home. The driver said she had never seen a puppy take to a new home like this before. Polly loves her toys! After tearing around for awhile (and I can never get a good pic of her because she always has a toy in her mouth), she collapsed on me and fell asleep on my chest. First nap with me. So in just one week, she is coming close to being house broken…she is incredibly smart. Yeah, she still has accidents, but she goes outside and is starting to scratch the back door to be let out to play. She will soon put the two together. She loves every new person she meets, is friendly, and she sleeps through the night with only a small whimper at first (or not at all), then she is perfect until I get her up at 6. She is learning to not bite people so hard (but that is a tough one to teach at 9 weeks). She is getting used to a collar and leash. Ginger loved to go on walks, and I’m hoping Polly will too. Oh, yeah, the cat…our black kitty who loved Ginger so much. Not a fan of the puppy, but they do interact a bit, and doing better all the time. Polly wants to play and the cat…does not. They are starting to interact a bit more, and they will hopefully be friends before too long. So, Polly is my second dog, and I’m looking forward to a long wonderful life with her. I couldn’t be happier right now. Complete trust! Sound asleep. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/11/30/2207929/-My-second-dog?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/