New Puppy

We went to Greenville for Christmas. I was sitting in front of Mama and Daddy's fireplace, enjoying the warmth on my back and perusing the latest Bulletin Board. For those unfamiliar with The Bulletin Board, it is an amazing conglomeration of want ads. It covers everything from cars to personal ads to pets and every imaginable other thing. It is like a hard copy of Craigslist without the offers of massages.

They define themselves as " Alabama's #1 Buy-Sell-Trade Publication, offering over 5,000 items each week to over 100,000 readers. The home of FREE classified advertising to individuals!" Here is the website. http://www.thebulletinboard.com/

As I was going through the "Pets" section, an ad jumped out at me- English Shepherds, to a good home. Now, I am a sucker for an English Shepherd. There used to be one on just about every farm around, but I haven't seen one in ages. They are super smart, adaptable, loyal, tough dogs. Since Sass, my Vizsla, died last October, I had not wanted another dog- I just wasn't ready, I guess. Of course, we have Daisy, but she belongs to the girls. However, I couldn't stop thinking about those English Shepherd pups. That little roly-poly bear body, that puppy breath and those needle teeth- I could finally picture myself with a new dog. One to go with me on horseback rides and hunting and to bark at the garbage man.

So, after a day or two, I broke down and called. I talked to the man for a few minutes and then discovered- he was one of our neighbors from Forest Home! Small world and very ironic. We went out the next day to look at all of them, and decided on a fearless little female. She had some dominant traits and was quite independent. I knew she was going to be tough to handle until we got all of the "pack" issues straightened out, but hey- I have raised Isabelle for 9 years and I figure I can do anything. We named her Pearl.

She is absolutely as tough as nails and has been a handful, but she is incredibly smart and driven and is learning her place in the family.