Welcome Sally

We welcomed a new member into our household today. Her name is Sally. We adopted a sweet black lab mix from a local animal shelter. Ironically enough Sally originally came from a over crowded, high kill shelter in Indiana to keep from being euthanized. It seems we were meant to find her since we started in Indiana and moved to Rhode Island and so did Sally. Already she has become super loyal to us and wants to be right next to us at all times. She's a great big (311/2 lb) lap dog! Hannah adores her and it seems that Sally adores her right back. Right now Hannah is napping and Sally is laying patiently at my feet as I type. Our current dog, Abby, doesn't seem to be phased in the least about this new addition. They both smelled each other over and then have promptly decided to ignore each other. Last night Hannah was so pumped about the prospect of Sally getting to come live at our house (there was a 24 hour waiting period while they chose which applicant was the best fit for the dog) that she rambled on and on about all the things she and Sally were going to do together. It will be interesting to see if the two of them do develop a bond with each other or if after the initial newness wears off Hannah starts ignoring her the way she pretty much ignores Abby. I'm really looking forward to having another dog. When we moved we let my parents keep our other dog, Ella, after we saw how much happier she seemed to be as a country dog rather than a city dog, but I've been missing the hustle and bustle that comes with having a house full of pets and that feel of a warm furry body snuggled up next to you (Abby's not much of a snuggler so it's been a long time since I've had that). Sally is definitely a snuggle dog. I can't wait until we find out if she's house trained so that we can let her into the carpeted floors of the house where we spend most of our time. I'm dying to let her cuddle up on the couch with Hannah and I while we watch movies together. Wish us luck that the acclimation process goes smoothly for all concerned.

This has nothing to do with Sally, but I have a funny Hannah story to tell you all. Last night Kyle was getting Hannah ready for bed and I heard her telling him that his belly was big. He feigned indignance and then Hannah shot back with one of the greatest one liners of all time. I laughed so hard that I couldn't breathe. From the kitchen I heard her reply, "Maybe there's a baby in your tummy." :) I think Kyle will be hitting the crunches hard after that one!

It's taken me a few days to finish this post and get some pics (although not good ones-please ignore the scary pet green eyes) of Sally to put up with this post, so I have another funny Hannah story for you. Yesterday Hannah was in a foul mood for some reason and was stomping around the house and scowling. Kyle tried to cheer her up and was making her laugh, but she didn't want to be happy. At one point she barged into the dining room and proclaimed, "I'm still angry! Look at my eyes!" and had her brow furrowed in the best impression of fake anger I've ever seen. I just had to laugh and then that really made her angry!

Today was my first day alone with Sally and we were finally moving into a somewhat normal routine. She seemed to be adjusting quite nicely until Hannah and I got home from her OT appointment. It was then we got our first clue that we've adopted the world's most athletic dog! I let both dogs out into the back yard so that I wouldn't have to fight them off while helping Hannah climb the snowy steps. While I went back to the van to get Hannah I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye and looked up just in time to witness Sally soaring over our 4 ft high privacy fence. She ran to greet us and then took off down the street. I chased her all over the neighborhood before I finally caught her. She then managed to bolt out the door once more before I finally got Hannah into the house. Then later in the day Hannah and I were outside playing on the swing set and chasing the dogs around in the snow. Hannah decided she wanted to play pirates and climbed up into her clubhouse. While we were up there, Sally decided she didn't want to be alone and nimbly climbed the ladder right up to the top of the clubhouse and hung out with us. Then when we decided to get down, instead of going down the slide which would have been easier, Sally easily climbed back down the ladder to the ground. While we were out playing Sally went up and down from the clubhouse just about every time Hannah did. We can definitely tell that she does not like to be alone. She's a people dog and wants to be right by your side at all times. It really stresses her out if she has to be separated from you. At least so far though she hasn't gotten destructive or anything when we've left her alone in the house when we had to go somewhere. I was quite worried about that as we started to realize she might have some separation anxiety.