Well like any proud new pet owner I’m going to bore you with puppy posts. I’ll be sure to put (puppy post) in the titles so you can easily skip them if you aren’t interested.

So Lola came home with us tonight. Aside from some concerns with my aging car (I was scared to death we were going to break down 4 hours from home with a puppy in a crate in the back of the truck) it was a good trip.

She came from the Hope For Hannah rescue in Bartonsville, PA. (Who is Hannah? See the video at the bottom of this post.) We really didn’t know what we were getting into, but Suzi who runs the place is wonderful. She brings dogs up from the shelter of a friend of hers in West Virginia, and a ‘batch’ of dogs had arrived last night. When we got there today there were 6 or 7 dogs, and 1 very fat cat, and 5-6 people in the house that consists of the rescue’s office. Chaos, right? Nope, not at all. The energy level of all these dogs was awesome.

In fact as we drove up Lola was just arriving so we got to see her being ‘introduced to the pack’ and it was like watching The Dog Whisperer. The other dogs smelled her butt and licked her face and approved of her and that was that. Tiny Lola and big old Hannah were having a grand old time playing but it was all very nice play. No one was getting over-excited. No accidents for the 90 minutes or so we were there.

Part of the adoption agreement says that if for some reason you can’t keep the dog you adopt, you have to return the animal to Hope For Hannah rather than just passing it off to a friend or dumping it at a local shelter. I was really happy to see that Suzi was that concerned for her dogs.

She went over everything we needed to know, what shots Lola needs when and all that. It was a great experience. She asks for a $100 ‘spayed deposit’ check that she’ll destroy or return once we send her confirmation that Lola has been spayed (she’s too little yet). And she made a point of giving me the paperwork so I can write-off the adoption fee, which is technically a donation because Hope for Hannah is a certified non-profit organization. She made sure we had her cell phone number and insisted we call anytime up to midnight if we had any questions or concerns.

I can’t say enough good about Suzi and this rescue… First rate.

So, once the paperwork was done and questions all answered, Angela, Lola and I walked out and we got her settled in the crate in the back of the truck. She was an angel for the 5-6 hour trip home. We stopped a few times so she could stretch her legs and in case she had to pee, and she was alert and curious but not frantic. Most of the trip home she slept (she’s had a big day) and a few times she howled a single ‘correction’ put an end to it.

So now she’s home and settling in. She’s adorable, sweet and clearly very smart. She already sits at the door before we go out…she knows the human leaves first. Suzi’s friend must be a Dog Whisperer fan and started teaching her already.

She’s curious, but not fixated on, the guinea pigs. Mostly she’s just surprised when she hears noise coming from their cages (she’s too little to see into them). So far she’s been playing with a few toys we got her and seems reasonably settled.

Of course, we’ll see what happens when bed time comes around and she’s the only dog. We’ve put her crate in our bedroom so at least she’ll have us for company.

It’s going to be a huge adjustment for us but I think we both fell in love the minute we laid eyes on her.

Pics soon!

Here’s Hannah, along with some sappy music. We met Hannah; she ROCKS and she doesn’t need anyone’s pity anymore…she’s a sweet, happy girl now.