Joy of joys – we are new pup parents!
Kizu arrived in our lives in person on Friday, October 16th. She was a year old at the time.
Less than 2 weeks with us and she was already the easiest dog I’ve ever experienced.
Less than 2 months since adopting her, and it’s kind of crazy how well-behaved she is.
We had been trying to get a dog for a few months. We had decided to go to the North Shore Animal League, but there was a pretty big misunderstanding with our landlord and therefore NSAL did the right thing and didn’t let us bring anyone home. Then, once the confusion was cleared up and we were told our pup had to be under 30 lbs, we went searching for a dog that size who wouldn’t be barky or too whiny, since our apartment right now has next to no soundproofing. (We like our neighbors here. We want to keep them.)
Cue 2 months of trying to get a dog with no success, despite scouring Petfinder multiple times and haunting the sites for rescues we knew (like Sean Casey, in Brooklyn, and Mighty Mutts, where I was a volunteer in the late 90s). Also, cue angry noises and varying levels of teariness. I wasn’t a happy camper – it was 11 months since I had lost Amelia and the un-dogginess was getting to me, badly.
Then I stumbled upon AllPaws, a site that does a Tinder-like search for rescue pups. Based on the criteria I entered, I found a dog named Sprite, who was listed as a Corgi mix, at 25 lbs. One ear up, one ear flopped, smiling into the camera.
I was gobsmacked. I contacted them the next day with Jon’s enthusiastic support, and we were approved the day following. We were told she was at Camp Canine in NYC, and that others had also expressed interest so it was 1st come 1st served.
We drove there Friday evening, and squeed as she climbed into Jon’s lap and then licked my face. She also had three little scars above her right eye, which added to her adorableness.
She didn’t think of Sprite as her name – that was apparent immediately. I got the point of the name – cute faerie etc etc – but it reminded us too much of the soda. It was also apparent that she was not a Corgi mix. So we played the guessing game for a while, and for about 3 days we thought she was part Shiba Inu.
That was why, after much name-flail on our part, Kizu – a take on the Japanese word for scar – was chosen as her name.
She’s really an astonishing dog. We now know she’s not part Shiba Inu (there’s a high chance that she has Lhasa Apso in her heritage, though) but she responds to the name now, so we’re not changing it. She’s friendly and adaptable and while she’s not as smart as Amelia was, she is much more biddable. By Halloween we could leave her in her crate with minimal trauma.
The cats are still not pleased, though.
The one thing we’ve loved the most is how much she demands to be between us when we’re snuggling. On the couch, or at bedtime – she’s convinced her place is wedged in whatever place gets her contact with both of us at the same time. :)
It makes our hearts somersault every time.
killer puppy tails 