More About Leo

Today was my last day of school for the year. Huzzah! I finally have time for things like blogging and sleep.

This is how close Penny would get to Leo
after the first week. 

I promised more on the process of adopting Leo, so here it is. We went and looked at him on Sunday, June 5th. He had been found as a stray and put into the care of our local humane society. We loved the fact that he was also a bigger Pom at 18 pounds, the same size as Penny. Chris actually made me promise that any 'second' dog I acquired be the same size or bigger than Penny, so mission accomplished. Leo (whose shelter name was, horrifically, 'BamBam') and Penny totally ignored each other as we played, walked, and hung around, and Chris and I together decided that we would be interested in starting the adoption process.

A sidenote: with Penny, the adoption process took almost a month. We had references contacted, our vet confirmed, etc etc. This is what we were expecting again as we stood at the shelter, considering Leo.

So you can imagine our surprise when we were told that the shelter only does 'day-of' adoptions. No holding. No deposit. $300 right now and you can take him with you.

I was heartbroken. The timing for us was terrible; I was still working, and we had a wedding in Rhode Island to attend the upcoming weekend. We left feeling conflicted but refused to make such a huge decision for us, Penny and Leo at such short notice and in such an emotional setting. It was up to the fates, we decided. If he was there on the next Sunday, we would get him. If not, another dog would come our way for sure.

My work friends can attest to the fact that I was conflicted about this. Monday I was desperate to go get him. Tuesday I talked myself out of it completely. And Wednesday, we drove back to get him and bring him home.

Except that someone had gotten there 10 minutes before us.

The shelter staff kindly informed us that he was in the process of being adopted. The woman adopting him came and spent some time with Penny, noting that he would be alone in her house for 10+ hours a day while she worked. She anguished. We anguished. I kept insisting that she had gotten there first, but she kept insisting that a home with another dog would be better for him. Chris kept telling me it was time to go but I waited. I could just feel that she was on the fence. After an hour of negotiating and making frantic phone calls to basically everyone she knew, she decided to let us take him home.

Leo's first night home

The first few days, he was amazing. Quiet, polite, housetrained, deferential to Penny, the perfect houseguest. Except that he wouldn't sleep. This is common, I'm told, in stray dogs - it takes a few days for them to get used to sleeping at night. We went away for the weekend while my intrepid cousins watched Penny and Leo, and he charmed everyone over there as well. The next week went smoothly, with Penny and Leo separated during the day.

I came home from school on Friday to find both Penny and Leo barking at the door. Weird! Our contractor had been through the house and forgot to shut the french doors to the kitchen. I was elated that they would be able to live in harmony together, and Chris went off to work Monday morning leaving them both loose to roam.

Monday afternoon. Two puddles of pee and two very anxious and stressed out dogs. Yesterday made me realize that having two dogs is so much more work than I had expected. Establishing a pecking order in the 'pack' has meant that Leo is now afraid of toys and struggles to eat. Penny, on the other hand, often seems depressed and distant. I'm reminded constantly by other people that this will pass, and I'm looking forward to when it does. I so wanted to bring another dog into our lives, and it has been a wonderful but challenging experience.

Finally ate a whole bowl of food -
more than a week home

Today, however, was lovely lovely. I got home before 3pm (cue angels singing) and walked the living crap out of those dogs. My dear friend Lauren has four dogs and no toys - walks are their toys, as she says. We went close to 7 miles today and the dogs are collapsed at my feet as we speak, Leo's head resting on Penny's paws. Hopefully, as time goes on, the two of them will learn to live with each other without putting me through a daily 10k...

All that aside, Leo is a love. He is silly, snuggly, and able to do a whole host of bizarre tricks. He loves me. He loves Chris. He loves Penny. He also loves any other human, animal or inanimate object that gets in his way. He has attempted to stroll into our neighbor's house. He succeeded at jumping into a stranger's car at the cemetery. Leo is still very much in that, "I'm loveable, will you take me home?" stage that Penny never went through. He also thinks his name is 'Penny' or 'Good Boy.' I'm working on the clicker training with him that I've been using, with moderate success, with Penny. Intelligence and energy are what he brings to the table. He is now sleeping through the night and we are just glad to have him with us. It doesn't quite feel like he's ours, yet, but I've got the whole summer to find out what makes Leo tick and where he will fit into our lives.

Today at the park - looking like siblings!