Meet Zoey!

Well, after six months of talking about it, Gearry and I finally went through with it yesterday... Bailey has a new sister! We've wanted to get a friend for Bailey all along and finally found him the perfect little sister, our beautiful new girl who we named Zoey (after finally convincing ourselves that we would not want to name a child this one day). Zoey is a 6 month old Cockapoo (Cocker Spaniel & Poodle hybrid) and one of the happiest little dogs I've ever seen. She also has the softest fur you can imagine... it feels like cornsilk.

Here is little Zoey, the first time I met her. I volunteer at the Bloomington Animal Shelter every Saturday morning, and Zoey was the first thing I saw when I walked in this past weekend. What a nice way to start my Saturday! I've seen a lot of cute/fun/sweet/insert-adjective-here dogs since I started volunteering at the shelter back in October, but Zoey topped them all. There was something special about her, just like the first time Gearry and I saw Colby and Bailey. I snapped this picture and sent it to Gearry -- he had about the same reaction that I did, and he hadn't even seen her in person. Before I left that day, I let the staff know I might be interested and I took some time to play with Zoey in one of the empty education rooms. "Smitten" would be putting it mildly.

The picture above (Bailey using Zoey as a pillow) was just taken a few moments ago. Tuesday evening, we took Bailey to the shelter to do a "dog-to-dog interaction" so the staff could test how the two might get along. As long as they passed this "test" we had planned on taking her home that night, so we had our fingers crossed. It was a little iffy at first... Bailey actually seemed a little scared of her, which is very, very odd for such an outgoing dog. He was mostly ignoring her, again odd for him. But I think he was very nervous and overstimulated in the shelter (he was also a rescue, so I'm sure it brought back some bad memories for him)... after awhile he loosened up, and although their interactions weren't exactly warm, they were friendly enough for us to get the "OK."

By the looks of the above picture, however, you can tell that as soon as we got home, it was a different story. Bailey started acting like Bailey again, and they are getting along so well! They've been playing a ton, are learning to share toys and have been very receptive to each other. Whenever we take them for walks, they've already decided they like to be side-by-side. Right now they are both napping on the couch by Gearry.

We love our new puppy! We are happy with the decision (so far... heh heh) and Bailey seems to be, too, even though he has to share our love now (and probably isn't so happy about that part of the deal). We're trying to treat them as equally as possible, which is difficult when you're excited about a new puppy, but it's going well. Zoey is not yet potty-trained or crate-trained, so those are both big things we are working on... especially the potty-training. Sometimes it takes awhile for little dogs to catch on... and Zoey is also an "excited piddler," like when somebody comes in the door after being gone for awhile, so we have our hands full there. But it's worth it, and don't worry, I've invested in some super high-quality carpet cleaner: white vinegar and water... it really is the best for pet odors! She's a smart girl, so I'm hoping that she learns sooner than later!