Oh, The Places You Will Go

Barney the Beagle!!

After numerous visits to the Anne Arundel County SPCA here in Annapolis, Travis decided we needed a dog. This is how it started...

At the dinner table, very cautious, Travis: "So, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, and there's something I want to bring up."

Uh oh.

Me: "And what might that be?"

Travis: "I think we should get a dog."

wooooooooooeeeee exhale.

So, we talked about it, made some lists, talked with the leasing office at our apartment complex, and took a few more visits to the SPCA shelter. We had already talked about me getting my family's dog, Tippy, when I go home for graduation in May, but we decided a smaller, less energetic dog would be best for our schedules and for our apartment amenities. (Don't worry, Tippy, we are snatching you up at the first possible second).

Enter: Barney the Beagle! We decided that Barney, a senior-citizen Beagle at the shelter, could be the perfect dog for our family. Older, smaller, and quiet, he would fit in great at our apartment complex, and he wouldn't be too much for me to handle with whatever schedule I might have at the moment if Travis suddently gets whisked away (a very real possibility for us). We submitted the papers and waited the 2-7 days...a very long waiting period when during each show you picture Barney on his bed in the corner, and on family walks you realize they would be even more fun with a dog.

On day 3, we got a call around 8pm from the SPCA. Travis answered, then handed me the phone, "they need to talk to you." The adoption agent needed to make sure that Travis had consulted with me before adopting the dog. Of course!! And we would like to pick him up as soon as possible. That night we rushed to the pet store before they closed to purchase the necessities, and Travis made it home from work by 11am the next morning to go pick up Barney.

Barney is fitting in quite well!! He is very mellow, only howls once in awhile, and only at the dog park, we have heard him a maximum of five times in the 3 weeks we have had him :) We did find out he has Lyme Disease, which has started attacking his kidneys, but the disease is way less serious for dogs than for people and with cheap meds he will still live out his remaining 4-6 years without even knowing he has it :)

The dog park is his favorite! This is Barney's new girlfriend. He paid absolutely NO interest the other dogs last night, watched her until she was a good 300 yards away from the dog park, and then just sat in the corner until we left, refusing to play :(

He loves car rides, playing, other dogs, and lounging. You'll be seeing lots of Barney in posts to come!

-Deidre