After my three dogs died within a short period of time last year, I was desolate. Our home was quiet and lonely after years of dogs playing, loving, and curling up with us. Booboo was grieving and depressed as well. He came into the house to eat but it seemed he could barely stand being in such an empty house.
Seeing how Booboo was acting, and accepting my own feeling of emptiness, I began perusing Petfinder.com for a sibling. Our house was missing an integral part of being a home. I was not sure how he would respond to a new dog but Booboo needed a canine pack member and my husband and I needed a reason to laugh again.
Looking for a lab mix, I eventually found a six month old mix named Winnie who was in foster care. They did not know her history except that she and her brother were surrendered to a high kill shelter and they were rescued by an agency. Her brother was adopted already and Winnie needed a home.
I visited Winnie at her foster home and liked her immediately. She was shy but had a playful streak. She got along well with the other dog in the home and seemed very sweet. Looking at her paws, I guessed she had great dane or some other large breed in her. I decided Winnie belonged on Webb Acres.
Winnie slept all the way home, even when I made a couple of stops to get her puppy food and supplies. When we arrived home, Booboo greeted me at the gate. As soon as I lifted her out of the car and set her on the ground of her new home, I knew I had made the right decision. Booboo sniffed his sister and immediately wanted to play with her. They have been thick as thieves from the beginning.
Winnie is now about 13 months but still such a puppy. She especially loves to aggravate and test me. She is a daddy’s girl, curling up with Jim Bob on his chair when he gets home. I still don’t have a furry body curled up with me but that’s ok. She brings out the playfulness of Booboo and I am amazed how patient he is with her.
She is still a bit skiddish with noises and cannot always decide if she wants to run away or attack. Fortunately, she runs far away from the riding mower. Unfortunately, she attacks the vacuum and broom which makes housecleaning a bigger chore than before.
Curious about her genetics because of her big paws, I decided to buy an Embark dna test kit. I assumed she was a Great Dane, Black Lab mix. Boy was I wrong! Winnie is primarily Doberman and pit bull with a touch of lab and rotweiller.
Fortunately, she is a very sweet girl and the only aggressive quirk that we are working on is when she is sleeping and Booboo walks by or I touch her, she wakes up barking loudly. She is improving but her loud bark out of the blue makes all of us jump. It makes me wondered what happened her first six month of life.
Forgetting what life is like with a puppy, I try to maintain patience and redirect Winnie. But admittedly she likes to test my limits. But we are all thrilled to have her as part of our family.
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