vintage Tilly

Double The Fun

No, the picture above isn't a clever photography trick.  Yes, we have just fallen right off of the deep end.  A dog living in a house with three children could get bored, so providing her with a doggy playmate will cure that...Right?

Last week, it was just last week, when we adopted Jenny there were NO plans to add another dog so quickly into the family.  Really.  There are some who know me who don't believe that, but it is true.  A call on Saturday from the same rescue Jenny came from let us know that there were two beagle pups coming up from Georgia the following day, was I interested?  **

**Proof of my semi-sanity is that we did not adopt both pups.  Thank goodness.  The other pup was adopted by a friend.

Amazingly it was husband who was really excited by the thought of getting ANOTHER beagle, even though it had been only three days since Jenny arrived. 

This is Maggie, only 10 pounds and about 6 months old.  She is a doll, and part flying squirrel when she wants to be. 

Interestingly enough there was no posing in this photo session, when left on their own (if this chair is free) this is how they will curl up.

The dog gets a bed, and another bed and another...

I have been making beds for our new dog Jenny.  During the three trips I made to Petsmart in a 24 hour period, I determined that one thing I would not be buying for Jenny was a dog bed.  The orthopedic style, the flat kind with egg crate foam inside is just too easy to make.  For less than the price of one such bed at Petsmart I was able to buy three egg foam mattress pads at Target.  The way I sized and cut them, I was able to get three Jenny-sized beds and have leftovers.  She likes them on the floor and they are easy enough to put up on a chair for her afternoon nap.  (I know, it is hard to believe, we have only had her for three days and already she has favorite places and routines.)  They are now scattered throughout the house.

Using some fabric from my studio, the top is fleece and the bottom is cotton fabric.  I used two layers of foam. 

 

Another benefit of the project?  The really nice barrel-shaped zippered heavy plastic bags that the foam came packaged in. 

They have already been put to good use.

The Family Gets a Dog!

If on Monday morning of this week you had told me that I would be sitting here right  now with a new dog, I would not have believed it.  Tuesday morning found me trading emails with a friend  with two new kittens about how this was probably still not the time for a new dog, but maybe in summer.

It would seem that God had another idea.

Before noon on Tuesday I went to pick up our youngest, Seamie, at nursery school and the mother of one of his friends brought in with her the sweetest little puppy.  Seamie was so sweet and gentle with the dog and in talking to the mom she mentioned that she does animal rescue and has opened up her home to puppies and young dogs waiting to find their permanent home.  I found myself asking 'what sort of breeds do you have?  I love hounds.'  A moment later she wrote down the name of her rescue group on Petfinder.com (A Puppy's Friend  in Blue Bell, PA) so that I could search and find her puppy listings. 

Being a practical person, I thought why not just go home and take a look?  There was a sweet female beagle among the dogs she had listed, so I sent her an email asking if the beagle was still available. 

She was! 

After talking for a while we agreed that 'Jojo' (as she was called by her foster family) would come and spend the day with us, so that we could be certain that she would be a good fit with us before we made it permanent.  'Jojo' is between 1 1/2 to 2 years old was rescued from a high-kill shelter in the South.  She still has a little ways to go before she gains enough to reach her ideal weight and she is finishing up some medications.

The boys and I went and met 'Jojo' yesterday morning and brought her back to our house.  It took less than hour to be permently sure that she is supposed to stay with us.

Five hours and two trips to Petsmart later, 'Jojo' had become 'Jenny' and was acting like she had been living with us for at least a year.  Seriously.  Her personality is similar to another dog we had for a decade who we loved very much but who died a year ago.

 

Little Seamie's reaction at age 3 1/2?  "It is super wonderful that Jenny is living with us". 

It is.