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How an Engineer Adopts a Puppy |
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It is interesting how an engineer approached
the adoption of a puppy. We shared our home with the same pair of
cats for twenty years. They never warmed up to Dave even though they
relied on him for the necessities of life since my job required extensive
travel. The day finally came when old-age was getting the best of
the kitties and the house was without any furry companions. |
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We made the decision not to adopt new kittens.
Each time I called home, as I continued to travel, Dave began to think
about getting another animal. He thought a dog might be good.
He hadn't had a dog since he was a kid. Oddly enough both Dave and I
had childhood dogs named Cindy - but that is another story.
We discussed it and a dog it was. |
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But where does one start looking for a dog.
Dave's approach was very engineering-driven. He did research.
He bought and read seven or eight books about picking the "right breed for
you." He carefully underlined text of interest and paper-clipped the
pages for quick access. After all the research he narrowed the breed
to a beagle. The winning traits were size, personality, and
the need for exercise. He thought walking a dog would be a good
excuse to get some exercise too. |
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Once the breed was identified, Dave then
concentrated on learning everything he could about beagles. He
bought and read more books. Seven years ago the Internet was not a
useful as it is today. He talked to beagle owners and also called
the Colorado Beagle Rescue organization. |
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Weeks before we adopted Bob, Dave knew that he
wanted a 15" male beagle. He had already selected the name. He
studied pictures of beagles and decided that he wanted a beagle with
a non-traditional look. He wanted a beagle with a solid-colored face
instead of one with a white stripe up the nose. Dave proceeded to
buy everything a puppy would need -- toys, chew bones, pee-pads, harness,
leash, bowls, carriers, etc -- you name it, Dave bought it. He
even bought an igloo-type-dog-house and wired it with a heating pad and a
night light. He read more books on training puppies. He
already picked out the name "Bob." |
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He had networked to find available beagles so
when I returned home he a list of beagle to "go visit." It was
interesting that he settled on beagles, neither one of us had any
experience with beagles. We didn't even know any one who had a
beagle; we had never touched a beagle. So we hopped in the car and
drove to find Bob. |
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The first place on the list was a kennel that
sold all kinds of puppies. They had several beagles, the male was 4
months old -- that was OK we really just want to see a beagle
up-close-and-personal, as they say. Well, we walked in, Bob wagged
his tail and stood up in this pen. My first comment was, "He is so
soft." Needless to say Bob came home with us. |
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Because Bob was 4 months old, all the
"puppy-stuff" that Dave bought had to be exchanged for large sizes.
And, by the way, Bob never would go inside the custom dog house, so we
ended up selling it in a garage sale. |
