My husband (Jim) and I moved into our 1st home the beginning of April '2000. We had lived in an apartment for four years and missed having a dog around. I grew up with 2 dogs: Buster & Sparky. Buster was a terrier-poodle mix- he was my dog, no matter what my mom says! Sparky was a Cairn Terrier and was my sister Kristie's dog. Jim had a Whippett-Lab mix named Sandy. Both Buster and Sandy were put to sleep while Jim and I were still dating. We had talked about getting a dog once we had our own place, but didn't think it would happen quite the way it did. We did a search on a website to narrow down the type of dog we would like to get. I have allergies, Jim wanted a medium size dog, and we wanted to reach a happy-medium. So, the dog we finally agreed on is called a Harrier, however, there are not too many of these dogs around. The other choice was a beagle......Jim was concerned about the howling though. So, we just put aside the dog search for a bit. Until.............
Friday-May 19th, 2000 It was Friday evening and I was looking through th newspaper. I noticed an ad in the paper for beagle puppies. Jim called and they were all sold! I was a little disappointed. I wanted to go see them and ask questions about beagles.....just to see if it was the right kind of dog for us.
Saturday-May 20th, 2000 I pretty much had put the thought of getting a dog anytime soon out of my mind. However, I had prompted Jim to start thinking about getting a puppy with my search in the newspaper the day before. I tried to tell him that it probably was for the best because we still have a lot of work (remodeling) to do around our new home. A puppy is going to need a lot of attention and training......time we just may not have to give right now.
Sunday-May 21st, 2000 The minute we woke up Jim started talking about getting a puppy.....maybe we could "check out the animal shelter or something today". I wasn't so sure about this. So, I went on the computer and started a search within our area. I went to Petfinder.org and found some shelters nearby. I then started looking for beagles or puppies. Well, puppies are few & far between at an animal shelter. Then, I found a listing for a baby beagle/lab mix. The ad listed him as follows:
Name: Sparky/Male/Baby Sparky is a beagle/lab mix who was relinquished by his owner. He's 7 months old and is reported good with children and housebroken. He's black, brown & tan and was very quiet amidst all the construction noise in the shelter. He is up to date with routine shots & already house trained. The picture of him was in his pen with a scared look on his face (I forgot to save the picture on my 'puter). I showed it to Jim....he was willing to go look at him. We waited until the shelter opened up that afternoon at 2pm and took along a blanket for the dog to sit on "just in case". When they brought "Sparky" out he was very rammy! I could tell Jim thought he was too big----7 months already. The dog immediately took to me and we went outside for a walk. Jim kept saying I don't know about this. I kept saying give him a chance....he's been penned up for almost a month! Jim was skeptical and even people coming into the shelter to look at other animals were trying to talk Jim into taking him home. Lucky for us, the shelter was under construction (they're expanding unfortunately) and they started a "fostering program" where you can take the dog home with you to see if it'll work out between the dog & the prospective owners. They told us he had been there since April 25th and that he was supposed to have been "put down", but they had to move on to the next dog because they just couldn't do it. He just layed across the front seat the truck and put his head on Jim's lap while he drove. Very good dog! We went directly to the local pet store (took him into the store too!) and bought some food a dog dish and some toys. Then we went up to my parents house and let him run around their fenced in backyard.....he went Wild! Unfortunately, my mom's Cairn Terrier (also named Sparky) did not like him. We changed our dog's name to Sandler because 2 Sparky's in the family is a bit confusing. We picked th name Sandler because Jim's previous dog was a female named Sandy and Sandler's face looks a bit like hers. After bringing him home.....Jim was hooked! Two days later we called the shelter back and told them we were going to adopt him. They were very happy for Sandler. |
