Kalli's First Day

So, it was arranged to drive to Syracuse, NY, to pick her up.

I looked up the weather multiple times, just to make sure.  Partly sunny and cold.  OK, no problem.  We headed up with plenty of time to spare.  We drove all the way through Pennsylvania from south to north.  I still have a serious grudge with the PA highway department.  It all started a long time ago with the interchange in Breezewood, PA.  Well, they haven't gotten any better, and they provided massive confusion just trying to get on and off the damned interstate.  And when Heather says, "Go straight.", she doesn't mean continue in the lane you are in, she means maintain your present compass heading regardless of lane changes or other traffic maneuvers that may be necessary to accomplish that.  So I yelled a little.  Just like a certain jerk.  Ugh. 

We got over that and kept going.  There was an "MI moment" for Heather when I [sort-of] wandered off the road a little, but I made a deft recovery and we pressed on.  I think her coronary arteries clamped down to a few microns in diameter for about a half hour.  I hope her cardiac myocytes didn't suffer too much long-term damage.  We would have more to worry about soon, anyway.

Around Binghamton, NY the wind picked up some, and there was some fog and patchy clouds.  Snow was blowing around and I couldn't tell if it was flurries or just blowing around on the ground.  Soon after, the patchy clouds filled in solid, the sky got a lot darker, and the snow started falling.  The closer we got to Syracuse, the thicker it came down.  Traffic slowed to a crawl, and now we were going to be late.  Very late.  Oh, well, press on.

By the time we got into the city, it was blizzard conditions, heavy snow, several inches all over the road, limited visibility, you name it.  And the meeting place was on the other side of the city.  Of course.  Press on.

We got there about an hour late.  We met Leah and Jamie in the middle of the blizzard.  And there was the puppy.  She was so big and soft.  She was thrilled to meet new people and wagging her tail endlessly and licking and nipping everyone and everything.  We signed the papers and everything and hopped back in the car.  Heather sat in the back seat with her and "Woodchuck" [actually a hedgehog] and they hung out the whole way home. 

She was so good in the car it was ridiculous.  We had a plastic box with a pillow and toys, including Woodchuck.  She hung out with Heather and Woodchuck and nibbled them both.  Heather still has the scars on her hands to prove it.  As soon as we were on the road, she would settle down and sleep.  Occasionally she would sit up and look around to see where we were, then she'd lay back down and sleep.  We stopped about every hour to see if she needed to pee or poop.  But no, she never did.  We got out papers and begged her to go but she just held it the whole way.  What a great dog!

Once we were home, we had a crate ready for her in the den.  And newspapers.  Sure enough, once she settled down with us in the den, she let go, but always on the papers.  What a great dog.  In about 3 days we started taking her outside instead, and she was crate/house trained in 4 days.  4 days!  What a great dog.

We both slept downstairs with her that night.  She was happy in the crate as long as we were in the room, preferably close by.  So we stayed with her.  Heather got the couch and I slept in a sleeping bag next to her crate.  Heather had Monday off from work so we did the same Sunday night.  Actually, I slept downstairs with her the whole next week, until we got a second crate for the bedroom.  She got to where each time I brought out the sleeping bag she would go into her crate and settle down to sleep.  What a great dog.  Now, she sleeps in the bedroom crate with us, but otherwise her domain is restricted to the den and outdoors.   

And then she started growing!