Lila

My son waited to get a new dog after losing Isabella. You cannot "replace" a beloved pet with another. After Christmas he began to wish for another pet.

He looked all over for a puppy. He prefers females because he feels they tend to bond in the way he likes. A puppy needing a home rather than a purebred is preferable too.

He wanted a medium sized dog that will not fill the whole house. Our house is not huge.

He watched in the newspapers and checked with the vet's office. There were no dogs available that we could find.

My son began looking at different humane society type places. Their prices are ridiculously high. We never paid for a dog before so it was hard to imagine.

He finally found a place in the state just across the river from us. He looked for a dog that appealed to him. Eventually a little German shepherd mix became available for adoption.

He called and they had him fill out an application online. They were thorough. They did check his references. When they finished my son was notified that he could make an appointment to look at the puppy.

The place was very nice and clean. It did not have that smell of dogs and their excretions that is usually evident when you walk in.

A couple of dozen dogs were out in an enclosed yard for exercise. My son's choice was playing and did not want to come in.

The woman brought out a sister of my son's choice to see if he would rather adopt her. My son had his heart set on his choice. Apparently she did not mind as well as the other dogs did. That appealed to my son.

So now we have a new dog. Lila is her name. She was so little when we brought her home.

Lila made herself right at home. We had worried that the first couple of days would be hard but she was a real champ.

My son had not house trained a dog before so that was a new experience. Lila learned quickly and was trained within a few days.

She has also learned several tricks. She seems to be quite smart. Maybe not quite as eager to please as my son would like but she takes some satisfaction in learning new things.

We still have Bella's toys so Lila is getting her hand-me-downs a few at a time. She runs through the house the same way Bella did with the toys but with more energy.

We have had Lila for almost two months. Other than a couple of days during the time we had her spayed she has been a ball of action. Some nights I go to bed exhausted and she is not my dog.

This is the end of the listings of our dogs. Thank you for reading about them. I may report on Lila sometime in the future but I am tired of dog stories.

For now I will simply enjoy my son and his dog.