Meet Ollie

 Meet Ollie, our new pup.

Leah, Juliet, and I have been really missing having a dog lately. We've been visiting the Humane Society for over a year, casually in search of the perfect dog. In all these times, we've only ever want to actually visit with 2 dogs. Neither one we actually did because there ended up being issues with the dogs that weren't documented on their intake sheet. Leah has been getting more and more frustrated with these visits to the shelter. She wanted a dog, but understood that we couldn't have one that was an aggressive breed, too big, too loud, to jumpy, too old, or too white, small, and yippy (those were Daddy's conditions). She also knew that getting a dog is a family decision, and that her Daddy was going to be a hard sell. 

We went early last week, and didn't find any that spoke to us. A nice lady told us that the "dog wagon" was coming up on Wednesday and we should check back on Thursday. Leah replied, "Thursday is my BIRTHDAY!" and the lady answered, "Well, maybe you'll get a dog for your birthday!" At this point, we couldn't NOT take Leah back on her birthday. After lots of reminders that, "there may not be any dog there that we connect with...and, Daddy doesn't want a dog yet.....and, dogs are family decisions" We went back. I was trying to prepare the house and food for Leah's party, so I was imagining a quick in and out trip. We walked by "Theo's" (his shelter name) kennel and Leah immediately started asking about him. She knows that she can't ask about any dog that barks when you walk by, and Theo was perfectly quiet and still. His coloring and body shape was so similar to Ruggies that it started sparking memories for us. We asked the shelter lady to tell us about the breed, and she went on and on about what a great breed it is for families.

We took him in a visiting room, and he was so calm. He let Leah lay all over him. He was so gentle with Juliet. We texted Daddy a picture and apparently he looked at it and said, "Damn it". He came to the shelter and agreed that he was the perfect dog. He didn't mind being picked up, his paws touched, his mouth opened, or anything of the such. We took him on a walk and he didn't pull at other dogs or bark at them. Daddy was kept shaking his head, but knew that he was ours. 

 We put Ollie on hold, since it was Leah's birthday party, and that would not be a optimal condition to bring him home to. We went to get him yesterday and brought him home. He is a happy, mellow pooch (except for when he decided he wanted a play date with the neighbors dogs--good news is he literally just wanted to play--not to bite or wrestle). He is a great dog. He has had one accident, but has gone outside every other time. Brain is unsure about him, but he is so mellow that he doesn't overwhelm Brain the way other animals can. Brain sulked in the basement over night,  but has been out today sniffing him.

We named him Olsen, in honor of Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen (Leah's favorite--and in honor of Full House--a show we watch almost every night), and also a nod to Molson Canadian beer (it's a Lode family tradition that we name our animals after alcohol). We call him Ollie, though. 

Ollie is 8 months old and from Mississippi. He weighs 38 pounds. He is some sort of Leopard Hound mix. 

 Ollie's first night was pretty good. He slept in his kennel with minimal protest. There were a few barks and moans, but he went to sleep and slept through the night. We are keeping him close to us and he seems to be accepting us. We've even seen his tail wag several times. 

Leah has been drawing pictures of him like crazy. 

Welcome to our family, Ollie!