I'm not sure if I've ever told anyone the whole story about the day I got Mia. I remember it very, very well, even though it was almost 10 years ago at this point.
I had decided that Bailey needed a friend. Bailey was such an easy dog, and I had taken her with me to visit home that summer where she loved playing with Tilwyn so much. She loved playing at the dog park. So I wanted to get her a play toy, a dog that was a playmate for my best friend.
I knew I didn't want a puppy; I had briefly tried that and it didn't work and I was now fully aware of how much work a puppy was. I wanted a full grown dog that was the same size as Bailey, since she was pretty much the perfect size at about 45lbs. I kinda wanted a black dog, since they are the lowest rate of adopted animals, but size was the only thing that would be a definitive yay or nay factor.
About a week before the fateful Saturday, I went to the shelter where I had gotten Bailey, just to take a look. There was a male brindle dog, Bailey's size but with pointy up ears, named Clooney that was a possibility. I didn't fall immediately in love, but he was in the back of my mind for the week as a good candidate, even though I wasn't sure I wanted a boy dog.
My plan was to start at the Pet Smart and Pet Co's a little north of where I lived, and work my way down to the shelter where I got Bailey, which was maybe a 45 minute drive south of where I lived. There was five to seven places to stop along the way, and I wanted to stop by them all to compare to this possible Clooney end game dog.
Sarah and Enver went with me, as Sarah knew a little bit more about dogs than me at that point. The first place didn't have many dogs at the Pet Smart, and then I think we hit a Pet Co that had a cute black lab girl, but she was about 55lbs, a little on the big side. I debated, but we decided we'd keep her in mind.
I want to say it was the third place we went, another Pet Co, and the place had 3 rescue groups there and about 10 dogs in crates. I walked by them all quickly, then more slowly. This little black dog girl was looking at me, but I said aloud, "You're cute, but you're a puppy." She was already at the perfect size, and if she got much bigger she would be too big, especially if she was only a puppy.
There was a lady next to her, not the lady that worked at the rescue the dog was with, but she heard me say that and was like, "Oh no, she's not a puppy, she's a full grown adult." I couldn't believe her, she looked so much like a puppy, but she went and got the actual lady that had rescued her, a vet tech who lived in the area.
This lady gave me the full rundown. They had had this dog for about a week and she was out in a cage in the backyard with a bunch of other dogs this lady had; they didn't have a foster for her yet. (I'm going to refer to her as Mia from now on) They actually had a court order pending to hold onto her because of her story:
Mia was a street dog who lived on a street in a neighborhood. The neighborhood kids played with her, the neighborhood fed her, but no one would actually take her in. One day, after who knows how long, she nipped at one of the kids, so they called the pound on her. This lady had rescued her from the pound, but the neighborhood was petitioning to get her back... to being a street dog. Again, no one would take her in, but they wanted her to keep playing with the kids.
Mia has always been a skinny dog, but she was just bones and skin, covered in dirt, and I'm sure some fleas, though the tech had been treating her. We got her out of the cage and she rounded herself into me, waggling her way immediately into my heart. The tech told me her tail never stopped wagging, and she was always so sweet and happy, the nipping thing had to have been a misunderstanding, or someone pulled her tail or something odd.
So I sat there falling in love, I remember looking up at Sarah with my own puppy dog eyes. But we had to go get Bailey. I had been doing research and it was important to make sure they met before I made a decision. I won't go into the delays it took for us to go get Bailey and get back to the store, but it took a while. We finally had them meet, and they sniffed each other, then ignored each other: which is a good sign! Dogs don't always immediately greet each other with excitement, the best result is actually indifference because it means they tolerate each other's presence without anger or high energy. It was actually great.
So I had my perfect sized, wiggle butt, black dog. The paperwork was simple, $100, and I took her home. Her name was Mia, named after the sister in Fast and Furious because I had recently seen one of the sequels she was in and liked that name.
When we got home, about 15-20 minutes after, Bailey wanted to play with her and began chasing her around the living room. Mia ran for a second, immediately froze and peed all over the floor in a giant puddle. Lol, I laugh thinking about it now, but I took her outside too late. She had let it all go in the living room.
She actually learned pretty quickly to pee outside, but the pooping took a little longer. She mostly pooped outside, but occasionally if I didn't take her out early enough in the morning, she would poop in the dinging room area. That took about 6 months to break.
The first night I had the two dogs together, I was going to see a movie and I only had 1 cage. I put them both in the cage together and hoped I wouldn't come home to injured, or dead dogs. I worried the whole time. I came home, and they were fine. They've been fine in a cage together forever, although most of the time I had them in separate cages in Georgia. Once, I put a rope bone in Mia's cage, and it ended up in Bailey's cage. How'd that happen, I'll never know.
And that's how I got the Mia dog. It's funny how things like that just happen, fall into place. She needed me, I needed her, and Bailey needed her. It just worked out so well. I'll never forget how happy I was when she curled up into my side that very first time. My little wiggle worm Mia girl.
I had decided that Bailey needed a friend. Bailey was such an easy dog, and I had taken her with me to visit home that summer where she loved playing with Tilwyn so much. She loved playing at the dog park. So I wanted to get her a play toy, a dog that was a playmate for my best friend.
I knew I didn't want a puppy; I had briefly tried that and it didn't work and I was now fully aware of how much work a puppy was. I wanted a full grown dog that was the same size as Bailey, since she was pretty much the perfect size at about 45lbs. I kinda wanted a black dog, since they are the lowest rate of adopted animals, but size was the only thing that would be a definitive yay or nay factor.
About a week before the fateful Saturday, I went to the shelter where I had gotten Bailey, just to take a look. There was a male brindle dog, Bailey's size but with pointy up ears, named Clooney that was a possibility. I didn't fall immediately in love, but he was in the back of my mind for the week as a good candidate, even though I wasn't sure I wanted a boy dog.
My plan was to start at the Pet Smart and Pet Co's a little north of where I lived, and work my way down to the shelter where I got Bailey, which was maybe a 45 minute drive south of where I lived. There was five to seven places to stop along the way, and I wanted to stop by them all to compare to this possible Clooney end game dog.
Sarah and Enver went with me, as Sarah knew a little bit more about dogs than me at that point. The first place didn't have many dogs at the Pet Smart, and then I think we hit a Pet Co that had a cute black lab girl, but she was about 55lbs, a little on the big side. I debated, but we decided we'd keep her in mind.
I want to say it was the third place we went, another Pet Co, and the place had 3 rescue groups there and about 10 dogs in crates. I walked by them all quickly, then more slowly. This little black dog girl was looking at me, but I said aloud, "You're cute, but you're a puppy." She was already at the perfect size, and if she got much bigger she would be too big, especially if she was only a puppy.
There was a lady next to her, not the lady that worked at the rescue the dog was with, but she heard me say that and was like, "Oh no, she's not a puppy, she's a full grown adult." I couldn't believe her, she looked so much like a puppy, but she went and got the actual lady that had rescued her, a vet tech who lived in the area.
This lady gave me the full rundown. They had had this dog for about a week and she was out in a cage in the backyard with a bunch of other dogs this lady had; they didn't have a foster for her yet. (I'm going to refer to her as Mia from now on) They actually had a court order pending to hold onto her because of her story:
Mia was a street dog who lived on a street in a neighborhood. The neighborhood kids played with her, the neighborhood fed her, but no one would actually take her in. One day, after who knows how long, she nipped at one of the kids, so they called the pound on her. This lady had rescued her from the pound, but the neighborhood was petitioning to get her back... to being a street dog. Again, no one would take her in, but they wanted her to keep playing with the kids.
Mia has always been a skinny dog, but she was just bones and skin, covered in dirt, and I'm sure some fleas, though the tech had been treating her. We got her out of the cage and she rounded herself into me, waggling her way immediately into my heart. The tech told me her tail never stopped wagging, and she was always so sweet and happy, the nipping thing had to have been a misunderstanding, or someone pulled her tail or something odd.
So I sat there falling in love, I remember looking up at Sarah with my own puppy dog eyes. But we had to go get Bailey. I had been doing research and it was important to make sure they met before I made a decision. I won't go into the delays it took for us to go get Bailey and get back to the store, but it took a while. We finally had them meet, and they sniffed each other, then ignored each other: which is a good sign! Dogs don't always immediately greet each other with excitement, the best result is actually indifference because it means they tolerate each other's presence without anger or high energy. It was actually great.
So I had my perfect sized, wiggle butt, black dog. The paperwork was simple, $100, and I took her home. Her name was Mia, named after the sister in Fast and Furious because I had recently seen one of the sequels she was in and liked that name.
When we got home, about 15-20 minutes after, Bailey wanted to play with her and began chasing her around the living room. Mia ran for a second, immediately froze and peed all over the floor in a giant puddle. Lol, I laugh thinking about it now, but I took her outside too late. She had let it all go in the living room.
She actually learned pretty quickly to pee outside, but the pooping took a little longer. She mostly pooped outside, but occasionally if I didn't take her out early enough in the morning, she would poop in the dinging room area. That took about 6 months to break.
The first night I had the two dogs together, I was going to see a movie and I only had 1 cage. I put them both in the cage together and hoped I wouldn't come home to injured, or dead dogs. I worried the whole time. I came home, and they were fine. They've been fine in a cage together forever, although most of the time I had them in separate cages in Georgia. Once, I put a rope bone in Mia's cage, and it ended up in Bailey's cage. How'd that happen, I'll never know.
And that's how I got the Mia dog. It's funny how things like that just happen, fall into place. She needed me, I needed her, and Bailey needed her. It just worked out so well. I'll never forget how happy I was when she curled up into my side that very first time. My little wiggle worm Mia girl.
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| How does this not look like a black lab puppy? |
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