Day 18/365: My little Poofball

Day 18/365: My little Poofball
Originally uploaded by donnyatx

This summer we realized that two dogs is far better than one. Dogs love their people but the joy they get from another dog is a different thing all together.

My husband was against getting another big dog, and he also wanted a rescue dog that was over a year old. I wanted another standard poodle puppy from a breeder.

I knew he wasn't budging on it so I started searching for adult miniature poodles that needed homes. I found several poodles at a Poodle Rescue in Houston.

Moira and I drove down there to look at them. At first glance I wasn't very impressed with any of them. She had one cute miniature puppy but it was so hyper! She also wanted $500 for it. Some other people there were talking about the "high price" of the rescues there. I was set on bringing home a dog so we stayed and played with a few.

The first one we saw was a poodle/terrier mix. I wasn't thrilled with her however. She was hyper and a little stand offish.

We saw another poodle that was far too mellow for Abby. It wouldn't have worked at all. But it was a sweet dog.

Charley was the 2nd one we saw. He peed all over my hand when she brought him to me. My first impression was that he wasn't very cute... terrible of me. I was also concerned about him peeing all over me.

My daughter fell in love almost instantly. He laid on his back and we rubbed his tummy. He walked over to a tree and peed on it. He ran around, but was a little nervous.

We saw a few more and she brought him back out to us. I kinda had my hopes on adopting a female dog, but he was starting to grow on me too.

Then my daughter started talking about how he loved us. She said "he needed some one to love him". And the deal was cinched when she rubbed noses with him while he wagged is fluffy little tail. My heart just melted right there and then. She has SUCH a sweet nature and is so good with animals.

The lady came back out WITH the papers in hand and said "Let's get this all written up!" (mind you she never asked if we made up our minds... lol) I guess she just knew he was the right one for us.

On the road home he sat in one of the kids booster seats. I think that's about the time I started falling in love with him. He was so calm!

I called my husband and told him about the poodle we picked out. I described his personality and looks to Michael. Then I told him I thought he was a "Charley". My hubby was thinking the same thing!! He said he wanted to see him first before we decided. Of course, when he saw Charley the name was set. I thought it was neat that we were both thinking the same thing!

Charley started out very fearful of lots of noises. He was also nervous around men and boys. He still occasionally pees if my hubby goes to pet or pick him up. I think someone really hurt him in the past :-(.

The good news is he has come a LONG way since the summer. He will go up to men now, but it has to be on HIS terms. If they try to pick him up or pet him first he still gets nervous. But the fact that he goes to them is a big step.

He jumps into Michael's lap and loves getting affection from him, it is very sweet. That took a while. For a few months I was the only one he really clung to. Michael was the perfect guy for him to be around in order to over come those fears he had.

He's my little shadow and stays by my side everywhere I go. Out of our 3 dogs he is definitely the one that is closest to me (they all are, but he is far and above). He loves his mama! I could cuddle him for hours :-).

I am very thankful we got him that day, he's added his sweet little spirit to our home. We all love him very much.

~Donna