Four-legged fuzzy lovin'

Meet my soon to be new dog:



Today Erika and I drove about an hour to Bristow, OK to visit a dog rescue that has recently received seven miniature schnauzers, the breed we were looking for. The breeder who had these sweet dogs willingly gave them up after finally realizing she could not keep them. If you're not aware, breeders usually severely mistreat their dogs, all except the adorable little puppies that they can sell for $1000 or more. These particular dogs had been kept outside in kennels and when they were finally given over to the rescue, they were covered in ticks and all of their fur was matted. Because ultimately it doesn't matter what state the parents are in; as long as they can have sex and plop out puppies, they're good to go.

We looked at a few of the schnauzers they had, and we chose this girl because she seemed the most docile and sweet and she was also the softest and prettiest, though they were all pretty. She's very timid and doesn't warm up to new people very well. But she also doesn't pee on everyone or bark much or run laps around the room. All of these are good things for apartment dwellers.

Speaking of getting peed on: the first dog we looked at, a male named Skeeter, was fine when I was playing with him. But then he cocked his leg up and marked Erika as his territory. They always say pets choose their owners, rather than the reverse, but if this was his strategy for claiming and marking an owner, it failed, because Erika immediately looked at the woman and said, "I think we'll take a female."

So now we're waiting for her (the dog, not Erika) to be taken to the vet to get tested and spayed, and then I'll go pick her up later in the week and we'll be pet owners. I'm so excited because I've wanted a dog for so long.

Now we need to think of what to call her. The breeder named her Sarah Grace, but since had a rebound fling with a Grace after breaking up with a Sarah, that's not going to fly. Since she was essentially neglected, she doesn't seem to know her name anyway, so it shouldn't be hard to rename her. If you can think of any, send them our way. Especially if you can think of any good German names since she is, after all, a German breed.

And, as a public service announcement, if you're thinking about getting a pet in the future, please go through adoption agencies rather than breeders who charge ridiculous fees and don't always treat their dogs well. (Some breeders are good, but others obviously are not.) We found her on petfinder.com. There are so many pets out there needing a good home. Okay, enough sappy bleeding heartedness for the evening.