Now, I already had a cat and a parrot, plus a rescue cat that was living with my parents, their two parrots, and the family dog. But for my 30th, I really wanted a dog of my own. Since I was at uni and working shifts, it seemed like a good time, since I had dogsitters and would only be gone for 3-4 hours max.
I wanted a rescue, but a rescue wouldn't adopt to me, so I looked through papers and online ads for older dogs that needed rehoming. But I saw this little baby:
And fell in love. I decided I had to get her when they sent me this next photo, because it's obvious from her swollen little belly that she was riddled with worms.
When I went to go see her, she was being sold as a 9 week old Springer, but she was the size of a chi, not the chunky pups that Springers usually are at 9 weeks. It seemed like the worms might have stunted her growth, or she was crossed with something else. I broke every rule about what to do when buying a puppy. She was alone, no siblings or parents, I had concerns about potential health problems since she'd never been wormed, de-flea-ed or vaccinated, and the owners had no food to go with her. Worse still, as I cuddled this poor, clearly not loved tiny puppy, the woman said "if you want to dock her tail, you can go ahead and do it yourself, I'll tell you how".
At nine weeks!!
That was it. I wasn't leaving this little baby there. I got lucky, and she's remarkably healthy, very smart, fit, and gorgeous. She grew more than we thought she would after her rough start, is the right size for a Springer bitch, but her coat isn't right for a springer, and she's clearly mixed with something else. Something about her head shape and the arch of her belly. But I adore her as is, especially her lovely full tail! Which she is very proud of.
After a few weeks of love and health care:
Keeping up with her new big brother:
All grown up now she's two:
Still loves to dance like Snoopy: