Meet Tucker!

Shug and I have been back and forth about getting another dog for close to a year now.  Rubes has been a lonesome little pup and we have been noticing she just curls up on the couch and doesn't move until we get home some days.  We also didn't want to bring another pup in on the scene until Ruby was completely house trained.  We didn't want bad habits to be shared!  We also thought that another dog may be a lot more work, but every single one of our friends with more than one dog said it was pretty easy adding another member to the household!

Thursday night, Shug and I were on the Utah Humane Society's site and I saw a little YouTube clip of this hyena/deer/chihuahua mix and FELL HARD for the little guy.  We talked it over and decided just to give him a visit the next day.  In the video, he seemed suuuuper timid and we were worried he would be aggressive and scared since all the info the shelter had was that he was a stray.

Friday afternoon we stopped in to the chaos of the adoption center.  Dogs yelping and wailing and about thousand kittens in the front lobby all waiting for homes.  It was a pretty sad sight.  Here's a tip: do not, DO NOT go to the pound thinking you'll "just look around."  You will want to take home every, single, sad little face that looks at you through their kennel door.  I probably would have single-handedly taken home ALL of the cats there on Friday and I despise cats.  Luckily, Shug was there to talk some sense into me!

We walked up to Tucker's kennel and saw this dirty, little, sable ball wrapped about as tightly as it could in the corner of his cage.  We talked sweetly to him and the ball slowly unrolled into the skinniest little dog.  He was hacking from what I presumed to be kennel cough and had petrified boogers in his eyes and blocking his little nose.  He had scabs on his front legs and tail where something had taken a chunk out of his hide and patches of fur were missing where the shelter had to cut out burrs and knots.  I about lost it right then and there.

He carefully walked to the door of the kennel and gave Shug and I a friendly lick.  We opened the door and Tucker started wagging his tail, so we took that as a green light to give him a scratch or two.  He liked us!  We decided to take him for a walk to get to know each other a little better.  As soon as we sat down outside he jumped in Shug's lap and curled up.  It was pretty much a done deal at this point!  Tucker was probably the sweetest little thing we had ever met!

We brought Ruby back to the shelter to meet him.  She was pretty disenchanted with the whole affair, but wasn't aggressive towards Tucker, nor he to her.  We decided to give him a trial week at our house with Ruby to see if she warmed up to him at all.  Being the only pup in the house has definitely made Ruby a little bit of an ice queen when it comes to other dogs, but she is slowly warming up to Tucker!

His cough and wounds are already getting better and a couple of baths took care of his boogers!  He seems so happy and relaxed with us, so I'm thinking he better stick around!  Do any of you have two dogs?  Do they get along?  I'd love to know!