Did you really think I'd stop with one?

Part of me moving into a bigger place was planning ahead for getting another dog. I wanted a full Dane, and since the Marmaduke movie came out recently, I assumed that shelters would be full of 6 month old Dane puppies in about 4 months (which they may very well still be). I'd talked to Hank's foster mom, Katie, about that possibility as well as my desire to potentially foster, and she suggested I consider fostering big dogs until I found one that worked well with Hank. However, before that happened, I needed to invest in a bigger car. Hank does fine in the Rabbit, although it isn't ideal, but adding another dog to my tiny car isn't really an option-- especially when one considers that my mom lives 12 hours away, and I routinely take my dog with me, and would take any new dog as well. So-- the original plan was to spend a few months getting my shit together, and then paring down as much as possible to obtain a bigger car by winter. Besides, Bunny can't do one more winter, nor can my nerves handle driving her on shitty roads for one more winter. Anyway... I digress...

Last Tuesday I was digging around on the internet, trying to find different contact info for the woman I needed to contact to volunteer with an organization that helps with animals at the county shelter, doing temperament testing and taking good pictures, to help get the doggies adopted faster. I ended up on Petfinder and accidentally (I swear it wasn't intentional) ended up on the list of dogs at the shelter. That's when I saw "Sebastion." Full Dane. Fawn with merle spots. I opened it. I sighed. I closed it. Not time yet... Tuesday night into Wednesday, 7 friends send me links to this dog. Everyone knows my love of Danes, and knows that at some point, I intended on adding one to my home. And I responded to every one of those "It's not time yet..." Financially things haven't been exactly awesome and I've still been catching up after moving and paying rent in two places in June. This organization that helps with shelter animals goes out on Wednesday nights. Katie, Hank's foster mom, sends me a picture message on my phone of "Sebastion." I asked what he was like... she said wonderful and a lot like Hank. I texted back "Shit..." I asked that she call me when she got out of there. We talked for awhile and she wasn't sure what his story was, but she knew the shelter was nearing capacity and that most animals weren't being kept around long. She suggested I call in the morning to see what was up. We both sort of assumed that one of the rescues had already tagged him. However, I had recently gotten several emails from several rescue orgs asking for donations because they were all pretty full and pretty poor.

I called the shelter the next morning, hoping they'd tell me which rescue organization was picking him up that day-- instead, they told me that he's in line to be put down and that it could be any day. I know they tell people that to scare them... but I also knew the shelter was full and that any dogs that were on their website weren't on there for long-- and, adoptions are down substantially. So... I called my friend Alison and asked her to go out there with me. Katie said she'd meet us out there. I'm not one of those people that bonds with every dog. I can say they are beautiful, sweet, and wonderful, but it's pretty rare I want to take them home. I knew there was a really good chance this dog would be that way. And I had hoped, quite honestly, that that would be the deal.

First I waited and talked to the woman at the desk about what his story was. Someone had dropped him off, claiming he was a stray, but she didn't believe him. When the guy walked out, he ran into a volunteer in the parking lot. He told them he'd saved "Sebastion" from a shitty situation, but to be careful because if you move your hands quick by his face, he would bite. Because of this, they had to list him as aggressive. She added that during his time in the shelter, shelter staff had no problems, even giving him food, taking bowls, etc. She also told me that he wouldn't be there much longer...

Alison and I went back to see him. Laying on the floor was this big hulking beast, terribly terribly thin...and terribly sad. We got him to come to the gate while we waited for a staff member to leash him (their policy). We could already tell he was sweet. We decided to walk him around and spend a little time with him. He was so thin... But so very sweet. That giant head nuzzled into our bellies and his too thin body leaned against us. "Shit..." I said. Alison, knowing that I had wanted to name my second dog "Cash" said "Sarah...that's a Cash." When he looked up at me with those big eyes, I was ruined. Katie showed up and helped us evaluate him a little more strategically. I told her about the "bite" report. While we chatted, both of us periodically swung our hands near his face, from the front and the back. Nothing. We walked him past kitty cages. Other than perking up and cocking his head when a kitten mewed, he could have cared less. We walked him by other dogs, he ignored them. Katie said "He's so much like Hank." Yes, yes he is... Katie also suggested that it was possible that I could adopt him, get him back to health, and if he wasn't the right one, we could adopt him out through some rescue organization contacts we both had. I had an out if it didn't go well...and I'd been considering fostering anyway, right?

We talked for quite awhile and I kept saying "It's not the best time..." Both Alison and Katie kept saying "It never is when you find the right one." I was reminded of Hank's timing and how I just made myself ready... I was so conflicted. Financially July was bad. I had a vacation planned in August. My car was entirely too small for both of them to ride in for any major length of time. Standing there, looking at him, I looked at Alison and said "Okay... so I just go to Iowa for my friend's wedding, and I just wait and go to Minnesota later." I turned to Katie and asked if she'd be willing to dog sit for a 4 day weekend. I checked on the cost of adopting him-- since he wasn't fixed, it was going to be quite the pay out because I'd have to pay out extra on his neuter deposit due to his size. So the question now was one of whether or not I could afford it-- and not just could I afford it, but could I find a way to make it work. I don't know how many times I teared up there, or on the way home-- but I know I cried when I got home. 3 year old Danes with a similar temperament to Hank don't come around every day...

I didn't sleep at all that night. I went over my budget, my bills, my bank statements-- trying to figure out where I could cut and what I could do. I knew he'd be more expensive for the first few months with extra food and vet bills. A good friend offered to pay for a vet visit or two as I got him back to health and got him neutered. Another friend offered to send some help in the mail. A few others donated via paypal. It looked like I could do it... it wasn't going to be easy... but I could make it work. I'd already been "practicing" cutting my food budget down-- and from looking at my bank statements, I'd already established I spent quite a bit of money stopping for coffee in the morning, grabbing a sandwich at lunch, or grabbing dinner at the bar. I could stop doing those things. No problem.

So... Friday, I went out and filled out my application and paid the $217 to bring him home. They don't do much of a vet exam or any vaccinations until they are adopted, so I had to wait until after 2 p.m. He was also going to get a heartworm test. The heartworm rate is *so* high this year, that we were honestly just hoping it was low grade so that it could be taken care of more inexpensively. Somehow... his test came back negative! A possibility I hadn't even considered! I was ready to bring him home. I was ready to feed him. He jumped right up in the convertible and propped himself up in the back seat. On our way from the shelter, an animal control officer was behind us, taking picture after picture of this big huge dog in this little bitty car. HA! He was definitely bigger than Hank...

So yes... I got a new dog. His name is Cash. He's a full Dane. He currently weighs about 110-115 lbs. He should be more like 150 or so. He was clearly raised in a house, as he knows his own size and isn't house stupid. He's very laid back, although part of it is potentially him not feeling well. A visit to the vet confirmed that he picked up bordatella, and potentially a secondary infection thanks to the virus. However-- everything else is good. No heart murmurs (common with Danes) and his hips look good. I do need to keep him on low activity for a bit, as the malnutrition doesn't exactly make for strong ligaments and tendons. He walks great with Hank, and they are adjusting to each other. They pretty much have the same gait and pace, so it's an easy walk for me! Hank is trying... we've had *so* many dogs around for the last 6 weeks (anywhere from 1 or 2 extras at a time) because I've been dog-sitting a lot, and he hasn't necessarily minded the other dogs, but has been less than impressed at times. He's really trying with Cash, though. It is getting better. Cash is being really good about giving him space, but will occasionally give him a kiss, or even lay down on Hank's bed when Hank is already passed out. Sadly, Hank got up pretty soon after that photo was taken. HA! I'm sure more aspects of Cash's personality will come out in the next few months, much like it was with Hank. Hank came in to my home at the tail end of recovering from heartworm treatment. As he felt better and adjusted to life as a Stangl, he had a new personality trait every week. As soon as Cash feels better after this nasty virus, he'll be getting those big gross Dane nuts removed-- so I'm just going to guess anything that might show up will be preemptively eliminated with that.

I do have more respect for folks that routinely do rescue work. I'm not sure that I've ever pulled a dog this sick out of a shelter before... Monday night I learned that roundworms can be yarfed up on my kitchen floor and that after a dog is wormed, I should wear shoes in the house (ugh...). His nose drips a lot, so my drool rag laundry load has gone up pretty substantially. His poo has been less than awesome, but is getting much better. He's just a sick dog. And it's just not easy. I just keep walking around with a spray bottle of bleach water and paper towels... HA! I can't even imagine having a whole litter of puppies with some of the same symptoms. He's eating puppy food to get fattened up. I'm sure Hank will get a little fatter as well, as eating Cash's food is part of his slightly passive aggressive "dominant" behavior. Hank already does seem a bit less lonely, and I think he's warming up to it. I think he's ready for Cash to not be sick. I'm sure that as soon as Cash feels playful again, Hank will be all about a little wrestling!

So yes... it happened... sooner than planned... but whatcha gonna do? I do want to thank those friends that have already helped out with my little rescue project ;-) If anyone else wants to donate to the cause, you can Paypal me at sarahstangl [at] gmail [dot] com. Every little bit helps out a lot. We've just got a lot of food to buy!!! He's eating at least double what will be his normal feeding once we've got him up to weight, and that, my friends, is not cheap. We are surviving though!

So... I've got my two big dogs. This was my "next step" in life. I can handle that :-)