New Dog Owner's Odyssey: Day 3

My Facebook analogy continues to hold true. As I took Sammy for his morning walk early this morning, every time we approached a landmark, primarily in the form of a tree or power pole, I observed one of the following reactions.

• He eagerly strained at his leash, sniffed, then left his "mark." I would equate this to reading a post & leaving a comment.
• He moderately strained at his leash, sniffed, but quickly moved on w/o leaving a mark. I would equate this to finding a post to be of some interest but not worth a comment.
• He barely gave a glance at a post & moved right along, i.e., "this post is not even worthy of a look."

Lois & Rachel picked up Sammy for me [without my knowledge] @ the Siouxland Humane Society in Sioux City on WED 7/29. That's why this is Day 3. There is no Day 1. [I was too "excited" to write an entry on Day 1.] The following information is found on his Rabies Vaccination Certificate.

• Species:  Dog
• Sex:  Male, Neutered [The thought crosses my mind that he may not appreciate me sharing this on the Internet. Too late, Sammy.]
• Age: 4 yrs
• Size:  66.7 lbs [Lois & Rachel were told that he needs to lose some weight. As it was explained to me, this was a selling point, i.e., "a reason we will no doubt bond." Wait . . . what?]
• Predominant breed:  Sporting [He obviously has some lab in  him.]
• Colors:  Black
• Name:  Sammy

According to the Owner Surrender Dog Information Sheet:

• He is completely house trained & crate trained & "never had an accident."
• He will let you know when he needs to go outside. 
• He does not chew furniture or other household objects.
• He will get into the garbage if there's food on the top.
• He can be left alone inside "without incident." The previous owner left him in his kennel when she was at work for as long as 8 hours or so.
• He did not have a yard. [Sammy has already shown evidence that he likes our back yard.]
• He slept in her bed. [We're having him sleep in his kennel. He hasn't complained. Yet.]
• "Where would he be if your family is eating a meal?" 'Loose. Don't feed him table food.' [OK. Although I did let him like the crumbs off the plate I used for toast yesterday morning.]
• "Where would he be if your family is in your living room watching TV?" 'Beside me.' [The first time we watched TV in the family room, he jumped right up on the couch & laid down between us.]
• "What is he afraid of?" 'Fireworks.' [4th of July week in Norfolk will be an issue in general; Big Bang Boom specifically.]

I will share more information in a later blog & finish with this. When I let him out of his kennel this morning, he was happy to see me. When I said, "Let's go for a walk, he was happy. When we were sitting on the deck & I was reading the paper, he was happy.

But when Lois came outside on the deck, he was REALLY HAPPY! He greeted her with joy, pounced on her when she sat down at our picnic table, almost causing her to spill her coffee, & reveled in her affectionately stroking him & speaking to him in baby-talk [which we will have to reach an agreement about.] Whose dog is this really? I think we all know the answer to that question, but I am not the jealous type.