Meet Ripley

Two weeks ago, I emailed a rescue about two lab puppies and wanting to set up a meet and greet with them.  Only, they never got back to me. I was bummed, but I thought, "Well Nick's on call and I would have had to drive an hour to see them by myself. Maybe this is for the best."  Then a thought popped into my head - check the local animal shelter.  It's hit or miss with the animal shelter when it comes to dogs...only because once they get a dog in, that dog is typically gone in a day...especially puppies, so I wasn't holding my breath that I would find the lab puppy that we all so wanted.

But there she was - a 7 month old black lab mix, recently arrived from Georgia. I told Nick (who was getting bombarded with work) that I was taking Shorty and we were going to meet her that day.  We got there 10 mins before they opened and I just knew.  This 30 lb, hyper, happy, kissy, cuddly, sweetheart was supposed to come home with me.

It took us a while to come up with a name, but finally decided on Ripley, after Sigourney Weaver's character in Alien.

What she lacked in manners and training, she more than made up for in personality! She wasn't house broken. She chased cats (much to our fours' dismay). She fought with Ted...or rather, Ted fought with her (small dog syndrome!). It's been a challenge, to say the least.  

But here we are, 11 days into this journey and she's starting to get it. Ripley is so very smart! The potty training is getting easier. She's realizing that this is her home now and that we are her people. The cats have started to mellow out and understand that she's just a big goofball, who is often in need of a good smack on the nose with a paw to make her realize that they (the cats) are not play toys. Ted is...well, Ted is still adjusting.  He liked being the only dog and really hates sharing attention with this yeti-pawed oaf (his words, not mine)!

And Rip is really adjusting to her new home. As you can see, she's quite comfortable here.

We've all really missed having a big dog. Sometimes you don't realize just what size the hole in your heart is until you refill it. Apparently mine was the size of a black lab.