[Dailydrool] New addition to the family! (Long)

[Rose Hughes]

I haven't posted in awhile, but this was news I had to share.  I adopted Annie and Fred from Mid-ABHR 6 years ago (I technically fostered Fred for about 24 hours...)  I have resisted fostering because I live in a townhouse with no yard, and I live alone.  Walking 2 dogs is enough of a challenge, since neither of them is the least bit obedient when we are out walking (or at any other time, if I'm being really honest ;)  There have been a few dogs who I considered fostering/adopting, but the thought passed quickly.

2 Tuesdays ago I was waiting at CVS for a prescription, and was checking Facebook on my phone.  Mid-ABHR had posted a picture of a tiny little BEAGLE who had come up from West Virginia.  They took him as a favor to the shelter, because the woman there said he really wasn't doing well, and she thought that "she would lose him."  The night before, Annie was laying on her back, head on my lap, snoring away.  I looked at her and almost cried...was this really the same dog whom I had to hand feed for the first few weeks she was with me, because she was too scared to get off the couch?  It was like the stars aligned...I was feeling so good about how far Annie had come, and "Banjo" the beagle reminded me of her.  Plus, I grew up with beagles, my parents still have one, and before I knew it, I was typing into Facebook, "I want to foster Banjo."  As soon as I hit ENTER, I thought, "What am I doing?"

My family immediately started placing bets on how long "Banjo" would be a foster!  I found out that Mid-Atlantic was actually boarding him at a shelter in New York, 5 minutes from where I grew up, and where my parents still live.  It's about an hour from my house in New Jersey and, since I'm very familiar with the area, I offered to go pick him up.  So last Saturday, my friend Lisa (another basset Mom) and I drove up to get Banjo, who had been renamed Marty by the NY shelter.  My Mom met us there, and we took Marty to PetSmart, where his Mema (my Mom :) bought him his own bed, toys, harness, leash, collar, food and a name tag.  At first I put "Marty" and my phone number.  At the last minute, I changed it to "Marty Hughes", and I knew at that moment that he wasn't going anywhere.

On Wednesday, I brought him to be neutered.  There were some complications, he has kennel cough and needed some bloodwork and a chest xray.  That, plus the fact that I worked too late to pick him up that night, meant he had to stay over at the vet.  There was a terrible thunderstorm that night, and I remember worrying that he was alone, and might be afraid...how could I worry so much about a dog I'd known for less than a week?  The next morning, I picked him up, and immediately went and signed his adoption papers!

He is such a sweet guy, house trained, dying for affection.  He does the belly crawl, is afraid to walk by me, and immediately cowers if I go to take off his leash.  However, whatever was done to him has not made him angry or taken away his playful spirit.  Fred LOVES to play with him!  He has wanted a playmate for so long, and it's great to see my almost 10 year old guy jumping around like a puppy.  Annie tolerates him, and takes every chance she can get to remind him that she is The Queen.

3 dogs takes some getting used to, but he was meant to be here, and I'm thrilled that he is!

Rose, Annie, Fred and Marty the Beagle




 
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