Friday, August 21, 2009

Where and how do you even get a dog?

There is a lot of debate about where the "right" place is to get a dog. I have nothing against purchasing a dog from a pet store or a breeder. It's just that if I had an extra $500 to $1,000 laying around, J. crew or Marc Jacobs would've come home with me, not Ender.

We got Ender from the Oakland Animal Shelter. (I know people give Oakland a lot of crap for many things, but their website is so utterly awesome that I frequently visit to "window shop." Check them out at www.oaklandanimalservices.org)

The first time we went to the shelter, it was more window shopping than anything else. We met Ender the second time we went to the shelter. He was the only dog not jumping at the door and not barking. He was however, covered in his own shit. Not letting that deter us, we opted to spend some "one on one" time with Ender.

The shelter lets you spend "one on one" time with dogs you may be interested in adopting. It's awkward as hell. It's like when your parents introduce you to their friend's kids and then expect you guys to be best friends, while they watch you like a hawk making sure you're not punching the kid in the kidneys when they look away.

We actually adopted Ender the third time we went back to the shelter. Little did we know that the lack of jumping and barking was just a little facade to lure us in and take him home. That little monster.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Hello!

I'm a first time dog co-caretaker and a first time poop picker upper. Up until now, I've only dreamed of chocolate brown labs and golden retrievers that lived on the set of Full House. Then we went to the animal shelter and got a dog. He is neither brown nor golden. He is however filled with brown poop and golden pee, if that counts.

Before getting a dog, we ran the idea by a few folks. Responses ranged from "your life is over" to "it'll be the greatest thing ever." Everyone said that getting a puppy would be "a lot of work." But what did "a lot of work" entail, really? Nobody ever tells you that part.

Well, we've had Ender for approximately 5 months now and a lot of work has meant cleaning up poo, wiping pee off his leg because he's oblivious to the fact that he's peeing ON his leg, taking him out to pee every two hours, walking more than I've had since seventh grade P.E., and trying not to get mauled.

Please meet Ender.