The day before my 28th birthday my sister and I ventured over to the Monterey County SPCA. The plan was to adopt a kitty since a month before my beloved Siamese, Mr. Cat disappeared one very upsetting night. We had Mr. Cat in the family for many years, he was special and everyone loved him (even people who didn't usually like cats.)
I missed having a little fur ball around...the little bell jingling as he roamed around the house, the meowing demanding more food, the nudging of his head and fat belly around my feet begging to be pet. I am the type who has to have a little furry creature around, it's required for a healthy happy existence. My husband on the other hand, never really had any pets growing up. To him they are messy, smelly, a drain on the wallet and a household liability in general. He's not entirely wrong, and with the one dog that his mother has (who is an absolute terror) I really don't blame him for having that opinion.
My sister, Kimberly, and I spent a couple of hours playing with kittens and assessing their personalities. I found one, a sweet little girl with an upper respiratory infection. She was so sweet and was sneezing and poor thing just needed to get out of there. I looked at her though and it made me sad instantly being reminded of Mr. Cat. One of the volunteers came over and started talking to us. We told her about Mr. Cat and she told us about her dog, a Boxer, and how she is the best dog she has ever had. She went on about what a fabulous breed Boxers are and that she would probably never want to own any other breed. Then she said that there was this beautiful Boxer brought in over the weekend, she was abandoned or "surrendered" as they call it. The volunteer told us how badly she wanted to take her home but didn't have the room.
She had peaked our interest and so we walked with her over to see this so called beautiful Boxer. I knew nothing of the breed but the minute I saw her I fell in love too. She was cowered in the corner, terrified by her surroundings of pit bulls barking and howling and jumping on their cages. Her name was Maggie and she looked up at me and cocked her head to the side, her eyes big trying to size me up as to what I wanted from her.
Kimberly and I took her out for a walk. She didn't bark once, she didn't pull on the leash, she wasn't aggressive or overly scared. She was cool, I think she liked us. I got on the phone and called Chris, my adorable husband who only wants to make me happy:) I gave him my sales pitch for getting a dog..."she's family friendly, great with kids!....she really needs a home....it's my birthday!" He agreed to come meet her the next day (shocking!)
The next day Chris fell in love with her too, of course and we took her home to be our new baby.
We named her Million Dollar Baby, calling her Baby for short. This name is perfect for her, since A. she is a boxer and kind of wanted a boxing related name and B. she really does think she is a baby.
We have had her for 2 weeks now and she is still adjusting but every day she is getting better, less timid and more willing to have some fun. She is a Boxer and they tend to have a guilt complex, she is not an exception. I have spent quite a small fortune for her toys and bedding and her happy home of crate which she likes a little too much. She likes to hide under things that I am rather surprised she can actually fit. The first day I had her she hid under my car, ughhh! Under the bed is were she stashes her loot, where I have already found a number of my socks, chris' slippers, a sweater and one of my bras (uh oh) but he didn't chew any of them (whew) still I quickly had to break my habit of leaving items lying on the floor.
Baby is pretty smart though, if I give her a toy, she knows that it's hers and now I think she knows the difference between our things and her things.
She has had a couple of accidents (cringe) since she tends to hold it even after a walk outside. Our first training appointment is next week and we can't wait. We need the guidance since neither or us has ever really trained a dog before. Wish us luck! I'm sure I'll be posting pictures of Baby all the time;)
