A new house-guest

Well - I finally feel like I'm a "real" dog foster!  I have brought home my first adult dog, Greta -- that is, my first adult foster, not counting the dog-sitting I've been doing (and LOVING!) Thing is, this girl is hardly your typical raised-on-the-streets stray (if there were such a thing). She is as sweet as can be, knows various commands, tolerates--nay, loves--excessive petting and cuddling and absolutely knows she belongs on the couch or a bed (and not locked in a bathroom and certainly not out in the elements on her own.)  Of all the animal house-guests I've had in the last year (if my count is right, that's 15), she is by far the best-mannered walking on a leash (and, yes, that includes Razzo, the cat that was so eager to get outside I harnessed him up--much to his pleasure!)


So, what kind of dog is she, you ask? She is some sort of terrier mix. The shelter is calling her a mini-Schnauzer. Makes sense given her adorable beard & eyebrows. But she doesn't have the correct height-to-length ratio. In other words, this girl is a long-rider (not so incredibly low... but she "should" be either taller or shorter from chest to tail.)  Her ears and color really don't point to her being a schnauzer, so I'm thinking some other type of terrier is in there. She has a good bit of the terrier personality too. Haven't seen her dig in the yard (yet) but I believe there is a doggy biscuit under my blankets and a vitamin treat under her doggy pillow. (Watching the burials was quite entertaining in fact.)  She is also happy to protect my house with her alert barks, and the birds and squirrels have inspired her ears to perk up just as a terrier's should.

In short, this is my kind of girl. When I dog-sat Gracie (the prison dog*) a few months back, I knew she was the kind of dog I would love to "own". [I'll save my thesis on the concept of 'owning' pets for another time.] Greta really is bringing forward much of the same characteristics that turned me on then. 

Suffice it to say, this is about the easiest dog-foster assignment anyone could have ever.

Oh wait.... it would be, if Greta weren't the nursing momma of 4 gorgeous pups!!

I know, I know... you just want to hear about the puppies (assuming you want to read any of this; maybe you just want puppy pictures!) But, I am so enamored with this dog that I feel she deserves her own complete report-out. Greta has been quick to inform me that she was a regular dog before she was a mommy, and clearly she was a well behaved house-dog, perhaps even well-loved before she was a stray. So, it is my intention to give her her due respects -- starting with lots of belly rubs, and even letting her sit on the couch with me as I type tonight.

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*Gracie was busted out of doggie jail to go have a stay at a real jail as part of an amazing program where the inmates train dogs that would otherwise be on the 'PTS' list. <yes - think the worst for a shelter dog>. Gracie was rambunctious enough to be 'at risk' -- girl had street smarts-- but was taken into this program (Paws in Prison) where she learned good doggy manners and from which her now-owners adopted her. With no disrespect to all the other doggies I completely love, Gracie was my favorite... or rather: the most like I imagine my ideal dog to be: high-energy, curly-haired, self-determined, and with an unmistakeable joy for life!