New Kid on the Block

Meet Abby…the newest member of our family! Yes. Chris finally relented and the transformation has been very interesting.

If you don’t already know, I spent almost 30 years of my “other life” (before sailing) raising and showing dogs. I began with Cocker Spaniels and gradually switched to Pugs. My daughter got into Italian Greyhounds and between the two of us we usually had somewhere around a half dozen 4-legged “kids” running around the house at any given time. During those years Amanda and I finished quite a few Champions and earned numerous obedience degrees with the dogs. Most of our spare time was spent grooming, training, raising puppies, driving to/from shows and exhibiting. It was all fun and we spent a lot of quality time together. Amanda still has a houseful of dogs but after my divorce, I began to develop new interests (skiing, travel, sailing and dating among others) and I gradually got out of the dog biz. I worked my way down to just two house pets but never thought I’d be without a dog. In 2005 the last of my homebred Pugs died and all I had left was one rescue Pug who was fun and good company. When I bought “Faith” in 2006 and moved aboard, the marina didn’t allow dogs so I had to find Louis a new home. Over the past 4 years it has been pretty nice not having to think about anyone but myself (and Chris) when making plans but still…I have had to get my tail wags and slobbery kisses from OPD’s (other people’s dogs.

During the past two years I have been sort of babbling about wanting to get a dog but Chris has consistently reminded me of the difficulties inherent in our lifestyle. Still…other people on boats have dogs and seem to manage OK. Being the ex-breeder that I am, I knew Pugs would have some trouble with the heat in Mexico (although I’ve met several who live on boats there and seem to be fine) so I began researching other breeds for compatibility. It looked like a Chihuahua or Papillion would fit the bill nicely and began the discussion. Chris never said “no” but he was always reminding me of the difficulties a dog would present.

I wasn’t seriously looking for a dog but every so often this summer I’d check out a breeder or rescue service. Oddly, Chris was regularly looking at and sharing photos of rescue Chihuahuas that were available! Clearly he was warming up to the idea.

When we were in Sutherlin (OR) I found “her”. A darling Chihuahua mix named “Chi Chi” who was in the shelter in Ashland. From her photos she looked like she had great attitude and we decided to stop and check her out, knowing full well that she would likely be going home with us. Well…not so much. “Chi Chi” was cute alright but she was much too afraid of everything. The staff warned that she’d been a stray and had taken 3 months to catch. They felt that if she was ever off lead she would bolt and I agreed. However, on our way in from the parking lot, we had met a darling pup who had just become available so we asked to see her. The staff brought her in and it was all over.

Abby couldn’t come home with us until she’d been spayed so we had two days to begin gathering all the necessary paraphernalia. Was I ever surprised when Chris said, "This (having to wait) is worse than Christmas!" Mr "a dog will be too much trouble" was sooo excited. When we picked her up at the vet’s office she was very quiet and, aside from a short visit with the “Rosebud” clan, she just wanted to sleep. The next day we began to see an occasional tail wag. It’s been all positive from there.

Abby has been with us for 9 days now and she’s a member of the family at this point. She is pretty, she has attitude and she’s very smart. She is pretty much housetrained at this point and will wake us up if she needs out at night. She has adjusted well to all the traveling (and we have been on the road over half the time she has lived with us) and doesn’t seem to be distressed when we start packing up to leave…probably because she knows the house will be there when we arrive. She has learned “sit” and “wait” and is working on “down” and Chris is beginning to work on tricks (oh boy). Next hurdle will be living on a boat.

Stay tuned!