Let Me Introduce To You...

... the newest member of our family.

This is Winnie, short for Winston.

We believe he is a poodle/terrier mix, and we have adopted him. There is still a remote chance that his family will claim him, but it has been approximately 1 1/2 weeks, with posters and local shelter calls, and nothing.

He seems to be fitting right into our humble abode.

This is our other dog's, Travis-pup's, bowl.  I guess the fact that Travis out-weights him by 32 pounds doesn't sway this little guy from partaking of his food.

We took Winnie to the vet today, and he is a little underweight, so we've been allowing him to eat whatever dog food he finds. Next to Travis's food is Winnie's puppy food, but who wants what you always have, right?

So here is how we gained a new member.

I received an e-mail from our local neighborhood watch stating that a family had found Winnie wandering the streets. SPCA had been contacted, and no one had reported a dog missing. The poodle-mix pup was a little over one year, and he had been groomed, but not "fixed".

The family that was holding him put up posters, but they were not dog people. If someone didn't claim him soon, they were going to be forced to give him up to the local shelter which is a KILL shelter.

Now, our family had been contemplating buying another dog for some time, but the economy made that decision a little harder. How could we justify getting another shelter dog when we should be saving our pennies? Well, I believe DIVINE intervention was at work.

And now we have Winnie. He went to the vet today, and he measured at 11 pounds. The vet agreed that Winnie was a little over a year, and that he needed another flea bath. Newly armed with Advantage (flea killer) and a vaccinated puppy, we came home.

I still need to go to Petco or some other pet store to get him updated tags, his own official bowl and maybe more appropriate puppy treats. Travis isn't sure what to make of him. He likes him well enough, but Winnie is too small to play the "wrestling" game Travis loves to play, so he just whines at him.

The kids LOVE Winnie, and Winnie treats them like his own litter.  We are teaching Winnie not to jump up on people, but he seems to be potty trained and doesn't chew on inappropriate things. Whew!

I may be blogging about Winnie for some time to come, so I'll keep you all posted as to his progress.