In the past nine months Miguel and I have gone through a lot of transitions. We got engaged, planned a wedding, had our last semester of undergrad classes, had a wedding, got married, moved to Savannah, and Miguel started his job! It's been a lot to juggle! We have been pretty excited, exhausted, and busy! We've settled into our new home and city pretty well so far. Savannah is a really fun city to start out our marriage in. There have been a few changes we are learning to adjust to, such as the humidity (I know it's bad in Atlanta, but it really is on a different level here!), paying for parking, and the slower driving habits - slower pace in general - of the locals.
Miguel is enjoying work. He has a good foundation of friends as co-workers and that really helps him get through his long ten hour work days. The drive from Wilmington Island to Pooler where Gulfstream is located takes about thirty minutes. Even though Miguel has started to carpool, the commute is still a commute, and no fun. It also adds on a chunk of time each day that we don't get to spend together. I spend a lot of my day alone. When Miguel gets home in the evening we (or most of the time just he) will work out, then we'll eat dinner, catch some of the Braves game, then head to bed fairly early due to our 5:20 am rise time. I've been searching for jobs, but it has turned out to be pretty discouraging. Not much is available. The small size of the city and of course the economy also don't help. I've found I'm either over qualified or under qualified for the construction, engineering, and nursing careers available. Pretty discouraging. Miguel also gets to socialize with his buddies at work. I have two or three friends in Savannah but scheduling time together is difficult with their work schedules. I don't get much people time. The past few weeks I've been feeling really down on myself and pretty lonely. All this lead to our decision to get a dog. Now I will have a companion during the day and also someone to look after and fill my day with activities!
We knew we wanted a shelter or rescue dog. So last Thursday Christa (a high school friend who lives in Savannah) and I went to the Humane Society to check out the dogs. I was sure I wanted an older dog. I felt older dogs were less likely to get adopted by other families and also having had a puppy and having had the financially and care responsibilities that come along with a puppy, I wanted a mature dog who had already been house trained and was through the puppy-stage. Miguel really desired to have a dog from a young age because he felt that they will grow up really trusting you and knowing you as their family from the beginning. But we both agreed that we wouldn't let age determine our choice, but rather emotion and also what type of dog would be a good fit for our family and circumstances.
Humane Society Savannah
I was really surprised how many puppies were at the Humane Society. At least half the dogs were under eight months old. Immediately I spotted Emma. I pointed to her and told my friend, "That is the one Miguel will want!". As much as I didn't want to, certain dogs definitely tugged on my heart more than others. I felt really guilty about liking some over others. However, the great thing about the Humane Society is that once a dog is placed on the adoption floor they are there till they get adopted! The vet tech that helped us with our adoption said they actually have a pretty good turn over rate with the dogs too. Actually, the shelter was bustling with visitors and people looking to adopt both days I was there, which made me really happy. Christa and I played with almost all the dogs on Thursday and I left with my heart torn between two. One, Mary, is a one year old black lab mix. She was really, really calm and sweet and completely housebroken. I also fell in love with Roxie a lab/pit mix. She was a little more puppy hyper, but we had a 'connection'. I came home and told Miguel all about them and sent him pictures from my phone. We agreed that Miguel would take Friday off of work and we would go look at Mary and Roxie in the morning.
Friday morning we both woke up with butterflies in our stomachs! It felt like Christmas morning!!! We got to the Humane Society twenty minutes before it opened. To kill time we drove to a pet store to pick out a collar. This was more challenging than we had pictured. First, we kind of jumped the gun. We didn't know what dog we were going to get, Roxie, the puppy or the full grown black lab, Mary. We also couldn't decide on a color. I wanted pink, of course! It was a girl dog after all! But Miguel wasn't sold on the idea. Truth be told, he really wanted a male dog anyways. We left without a collar, but agreed on a black leash so at least we would have something to bring our new dog home on.
When we arrived back at the shelter I immediately took Miguel to see Mary. We took her out of her kennel and took her outside. She was NOT the same calm dog as before. She almost pulled my shoulder out of socket! I still love Mary, but she was to wild and strong for me. Next I introduced Miguel to Roxie. We both love Roxie. We played with her a lot. Since Miguel hadn't been with me the day before he wanted to see all the other dogs too. We played with lots, include little Dixie. Dixie, a three month old black lab mix, was a bit timid at first. But after a few seconds, she decided we were 'safe' and puppy bounded to us! She showed us her ball and how she liked to 'be on' and cuddle. Obviously, we knew 'Dixie' was a good fit for our situation and we knew she was the newest member of our family!
'Dixie'
We both agreed her real name was supposed to be Emma. Emma had originally been given to someone as a gift. They kept her for two days only feeding her and letting her out once a day. They decided she "needed too much attention" and gave her away. Before she ended up at the Humane Society Emma had been through three different homes. But now she has herforever home!!!!!
Emma is such a good girl! She already knows sit and goes into her crate without force and doesn't cry at all! The first time we heard her bark was last night when she saw a horse-drawn carriage. She doesn't care for horses. She really likes to be with and doesn't jump up on us or bite our hands! But she still is playful! We got her some toys and she really prefers the duck that Miguel picked out for her. I didn't want to get the duck because it wasn't pink, but what did I know? She LOVES it! She likes to make it squeak.
Emma has only had two accidents in the house the first day. She since has found a special spot where she prefers to do her business now. She seems to be a picky eater and hasn't eaten too much, but we think that may be nerves. She actually has been sleeping a lot. Not sure if that is 'puppy' or exhaustion from the busy two days she's had. She really likes frozen carrots and green beans.
We've been very busy with our little girl. We took her to the beach at Tybee only to discover it is a $200 fine to bring dogs on the beach, so needless to say we didn't do it. But Tybee has a dog park so we took her there and let her run around a bit. She comes when called but we're not taking her off her leash in areas that aren't small and fenced in. She's tried to run after a few birds while on walks and it makes me too nervous. We also took her down to River Street yesterday morning and walked her up and down the river.
Miguel and Emma on River Street
Then we went to lunch at Zunzi's and she was really well behaved. We also took her to Family Fun Night at the church and she was a BIG hit with everyone, especially the kids. In fact, she made a new best friend with a toddler who bribed her with animal crackers. She got a little wild Next stop was Miguel's frisbee game in Forsyth Park, which was super fun because there were sticks to chew on!
After frisbee we went to dinner with some friends in City Market and ate outside at a pizza restaurant. This is where we learned Emma doesn't like horses. We also felt pretty popular. Everyone wanted to meet and pet Emma of course! She got a little overwhelmed though and daddy had to carry her back to the car when we left. She hasn't liked car rides so far but last night she zonked out all the way home.
Emma sleeping in the car
Emma is a really good dog. I hope her calm sweet disposition lasts. Right now she is sleeping at my feet. She really likes to be close and also to be under things. Her favorite spot in the house seems to be under our leather chair.
Zzzzz
Under is good
super cute! I want to come meet her!
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