Puppy Love

I had been thinking about getting another dog for quite some time. Initially, I thought it would be a good idea to help Clover with her anxiety issues. But really? It was for me, too. I went to adoption events sponsored by local rescue groups, including the local Lab Rescue. I came “this close” to adopting a “really cute lab mix pup” from a group in West Virginia. This little guy had been found in a ditch near the golf course and the lady trying to place him said he was absolutely the cutest thing in the world. (Aren’t they all?) Kind of glad I was not able to get up to West Virginia that weekend, because that cute “little” lab mix turned out to be a full-blooded Newfoundland Dog. I heard later that at 6 months he weighed almost 80 lbs! Don’t get me wrong, I think Newfies are wonderful dogs, but I just don’t have the space for a dog that big.

I found Cosmo on Craigslist over the Christmas/New Year Holiday. It appeared to me right off that the woman who placed the ad was totally clueless about dogs/puppies. She told me that she had purchased the puppy for $300 as a gift for her little girl for Christmas (Hello! Big Mistake!) and that over the holidays she had to move into a new apartment that didn’t take pets. The second time I talked with her she told me her little boy was allergic to the dog. Third time I talked to her she told me she wanted to recoup the price she paid for him and would “give” him to me for $300. It was obvious to me that there was a whole lot of lies being told, but each time I talked with the woman, she sounded more frantic. The thing is, I kept thinking that this woman was scamming me somehow. Did she have a basement full of puppies that she was trying to unload? or did she steal it? Or, was she as totally clueless as she appeared?  

I told the woman on the phone that I had no intention of giving her any money for the puppy, and I was very surprised when she said I could just have him. “Well, you don’t take him, I’ll just dump him at the Pound.” I agreed. My first thought was to get a good look at it and see if it was healthy and help find it another home (yeah, right). We agreed to meet and within minutes Clover and I were off to look at the little guy. The woman pulled into the parking lot in a very beat up Ford station wagon that looked like it was held together by some spit and a whole lot of prayers. She practically jumped out of the car, reached into the back seat, took out a small animal carrier, opened it, and grabbed this cute little black puppy and thrust him at me. The pup was only 6 weeks old and he weighed about 7 pounds. He felt like a little bony thing, and his coat was very lackluster. But the cutest face! I was hooked.

She was very surprised when I reached into my pocketbook and handed her $80. She jumped back in the car, hit the gas and took off for places unknown. I took the puppy straight to the veterinarian.

The rest is history.