Ergeheilalt
01-01-2011, 09:06 PM
So when I moved last month, part of the criteria I was looking for it the ability to have a dog. Luckily my new place does and I'm not due for a long-term trip for a long while. I figured that now was as good a time as any to adopt a shelter-hound.
I started by looking at a pet adoption aggregator and found the Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek. A group of Australian Shepherd puppies had just been put up for adoption - all of whom where named after Star Trek characters: Data, Beverley, Troi, LaForge, Spock, and of course, Jean Luc.
I went in to take a look at the puppies on Thursday at the ARF facility. It's a pretty neat place and it was busy all afternoon long. I was able to sit down with jean luc and an adoption councilor and it took him a long time to get used to me. Apparently, all of his litter showed signs of skitishness and severe trust issues with humans. And then there was the submissive urination. The councilor was doing everything to persuade me NOT to go with Jean Luc.
That said, he was a good looking pooch. And he displayed a great deal of security with the his handler. And frankly, I found the councilor to be disagreeable and decided I could do with a challenge. It was probably a foolish thing to do, but damn me if it didn't work.
I brought home Jean Luc and we had some a few submissive urination issues that night, but not a single time since. He's also managed to hold it and only go to the bathroom outside. His leash skills are surprisingly good for a dog without a lot of people skills. He's very skittish around my neighbors, but I was given a pamphlet about socialization and will try it out tomorrow night with a couple of friends of mine come over for dinner and some board games.
Of course, you'll want a photo - so here you go:
I started by looking at a pet adoption aggregator and found the Animal Rescue Foundation in Walnut Creek. A group of Australian Shepherd puppies had just been put up for adoption - all of whom where named after Star Trek characters: Data, Beverley, Troi, LaForge, Spock, and of course, Jean Luc.
I went in to take a look at the puppies on Thursday at the ARF facility. It's a pretty neat place and it was busy all afternoon long. I was able to sit down with jean luc and an adoption councilor and it took him a long time to get used to me. Apparently, all of his litter showed signs of skitishness and severe trust issues with humans. And then there was the submissive urination. The councilor was doing everything to persuade me NOT to go with Jean Luc.
That said, he was a good looking pooch. And he displayed a great deal of security with the his handler. And frankly, I found the councilor to be disagreeable and decided I could do with a challenge. It was probably a foolish thing to do, but damn me if it didn't work.
I brought home Jean Luc and we had some a few submissive urination issues that night, but not a single time since. He's also managed to hold it and only go to the bathroom outside. His leash skills are surprisingly good for a dog without a lot of people skills. He's very skittish around my neighbors, but I was given a pamphlet about socialization and will try it out tomorrow night with a couple of friends of mine come over for dinner and some board games.
Of course, you'll want a photo - so here you go: