A New Home

Hey y'all!  I hope you are having a great week and enjoying this beautiful weather.  I know I am.  I'm so ready for Fall!

We have some exciting news to share.  Over the past few months, we have been discussing adopting another dog.  We actually visited a local rescue last year, but Mason wasn't ready at the time.  During this time, we continued looking online at different rescues in our area, but haven't visited any of them or met any of their dogs until now.  

Kevin found a dog online that he just had to meet.  His name is Titan and he is currently in a foster home through this rescue and also on petfinder.com.

Here is the information that we read online before we met Titan.

Hi! My name is Titan! I am a 7 month old retriever/plott hound mix. I have been in the rescue since mid February. I was rescued along with my mom and 4 siblings from a rural shelter in NC. We were all covered in mange. That has since cleared up. I am the last one of my litter to be adopted. I have a unknown neurological condition that makes me a little wobbly in the back end. This does not effect me getting around at all, I just walk a little funny. The vet seems to think that with strengthening exercises that this could become very minimal. My foster parents barely notice it anymore. I am a very happy guy and VERY laid back. I am crate and dog door trained. Don't let my wobbly legs scare you off, I am a lover and just need a moment to steal your heart.

When my husband sent me the link to look at this dog, I'm thinking, ARE YOU SERIOUS?!  Why would you want to adopt a dog that has a 'condition' and will need extra care?  

Well, the fact is, everyone else in the market to adopt, was thinking the same thing and never gave the poor fella a chance.   

We talked about it for a while and talked to Mason too!  We decided we wanted to meet him and find out more.  Well, we did just that.  We met him this week and OH MY goodness!  He is a sweetheart.  So gentle, very loving.  He came right up to us, licked our hands and then laid right down for us to pet him.  

Mason was excited too, but needed reassurance to touch and pet the dog.  That was all it took.  He wanted to give him a treat.  He told Titan, "Sit", "Good Dog" HA!  The problem was, Titan was already sitting (actually laying down).   

Along with meeting Titan, we were also able to meet with his foster mom and the founder of the rescue.  They were both very helpful and answered all of our questions.  Our concerns were obvious.  We wanted to know more about this condition.  

From what they can tell (and Titan's vet), this condition is believed to be neurological since they have ruled out any other spinal/back issues from his x-rays.  They could possibly find out more about his condition by testing, but this would cost thousands of dollars and they may not get an answer.  Titan was born with basically a weak back end, so his legs are a bit wobbly.  It really isn't bad.  Of course, when he is excited it is more noticeable.  He is a bit slower going up and down stairs and would need help into a vehicle.  He may become better over time with some strengthening exercises, such as sitting and getting back to the standing position, walking, standing on his back legs (with help of course).  He is not in pain and he is not taking medicine for this condition.

Here is Titan as a puppy.

And here is what is looks like today. 

 

 

We will bring Titan home Thursday evening for a trial adoption.  The rescue gives you the option of taking home your pet for 2 weeks.  We are so grateful to have this time to make sure Titan loves his new home and he makes a good fit for our family.  

We bought a few things to welcome Titan to his new home.  This will be a big transition for him.  He has been with his foster mom for 8 months and of course we haven't had a dog in our home in over 2 years.  

 

 Will this work out for us and for Titan?  We don't know, but we are willing to give it a try.  He needs a loving home and we miss having the companionship of a pet.  Like I told the founder of the rescue, we are looking for a member of our family, we're not looking for just a dog.  

The one thing I know for sure, if we keep him, we would like to change his name.  We were thinking....  Charlie, but we'd love to hear your ideas too. 

First Day Ever

Hey y'all!  We've been MIA for a few days.  Kevin and I took a little anniversary trip.  I'll post about that soon.  First, I need to tell you about Mason's first day of preschool.  

Oh My Goodness!  He was so excited!  We have been preparing for weeks. Getting new shoes, a backpack, lunch box, using the potty like a big boy.   We went to orientation.  We met his teacher (Ms. Tina),  toured his classroom.  He walked right in his room, sat down, looked at the teacher, and said, "are my friends going to be here"?  "Is Jack coming"?  Poor little fella.  He didn't understand that his friends from our group would not be in his class.  I felt so bad for him, but we reassured him he would meet more friends and he would still see Jack too!

He said he needed to watch some TV, drink his milk, and eat breakfast before he could go to school.  And he did just that.  Such a big boy!  

 

We've been talking to Mason about school for a while now, so that he is prepared.  When the time came, he didn't mind the change at all.  He was up at 6:30 am and said, "let's go, Mommy.  I'm ready to go to school".

  

I walked him in to his class on the first day.  He was so handsome, and looked like such a big boy with his backpack.  Ms. Tina showed him where to put his backpack every morning.  He put it in his cubby and never looked back.  

 Mason went right to playing and I looked around his room.  It was so cute to see his name everywhere.  He has his own cubby, a place to sit at the table, and his name is on the outside of the room too!  His room them is Zebras. 
 

I was the 'misty eyed' mommy.  I looked lost and was thinking....what am I supposed to do now?  Do I just leave my child with this person I've met one time?  This is strange!  I don't like this! HA!  I'm really unsure at this point.  I had to ask Mason for a hug and sugar (kiss)!  He said, "ok, mommy...bye, I'll see you later"!  Oh ok!  I guess I'll leave now.  

As the tears are welling up in my eyes, I stood outside the room and watched my baby boy.  He was a big boy now.  He made himself right at home.  He was playing and never realized I left. 

 
I'm only assuming he had a good first day.  I picked him up in the carpool line so I never saw his teacher.  He came home in the same outfit, so at least I know he used the potty.  He was so tired.  In the car ride home, I asked him questions and I didn't get much response, mostly head shakes.  I said, what did you do today?  He said, I ate a lollipop.  I asked him if he made a new friend and he said yes, George.  Come to find out, it is Jordan.  HA!

So far, so good.  I hope he continues to be excited about school.  I'm hoping to find out more about his first day.  Maybe I'll walk him in again tomorrow so I can see the teacher.

I have a school boy now!  *sigh*