Meet Roxy, Our New Dog

When we went looking Saturday at the Northeast Ohio SPCA, a no-kill shelter on Brookpark Rd., Gerard really liked this dog Vixen, a Husky mix.  I thought it was a really nice dog, seemed calm, walked nice on the leash, was good with people and didn't even chase squirrels.  She seemed to pretty much ignore the cats.  I couldn't really find any reason no to get her other than that she was big and weighs in at 60 lbs, even more than Abby.  I didn't think we should get such a big dog, but Gerard was all excited and adamant that she's a great dog, especially when it was free, so I reluctantly gave in!  They waive the adoption fee for senior citizens.

While Gerard bonded with the dog, I got changed her name from Vixen to Roxy and got her dog license, a big 46 lb. bag of Purina Dog Chow that the shelter said we should feed her because that's what she was used to at the shelter, poop bags and a couple small Wolf Wilderness treats.  Her first day with us, she didn't eat anything but showed some interest in my food. 

Gerard took her for a few walks around the neighborhood and she made herself comfortable on the couch where she slept through the night.  In order to help prepare her to be alone for a while since I knew we'd be gone to church for about 3 hours, I closed her in our bedroom.  She whimpered for about 5 minutes and then was quiet.  I figured she be okay.

Roxy did not chase Spunky, but when she got a little too close, Spunky did hiss at her and gave her a slap on her nose.  After that Roxy kept her distance pretty much.  The next morning, Spunky did noses with her!

This morning, I added some of the Wolf Wilerness treats to the top of her dog chow and she loved it!  She ate half the bowl.   After her morning walk around 6:00 a.m., she was left alone for the first time.  We closed the windows most of the way just in case she got any ideas about trying to jump out (She's very strong).  In spite of this precaution, we came home from church to find two ripped screens!  I was so mad, but she's so nice and beautiful, I couldn't stay mad for long.  We gave her two more long walks and introduced her to some new friends along the way and one more shorter walk early evening.  She should sleep well tonight!

We made an appointment with our vet to get her booster shot on Monday and the heartworm and flea and tick prevention stuff.  The shelter we got her from has a cheap clinic we could have gone to for less, but it is not within walking distance and getting her in and out of the car would probably be a problem, she's so big and heavy!

Hopefully, we'll be able to get things running smoothly soon and we'll be able to make this work!  I can't help comparing her to Abby and in my mind, Abby always comes out ahead.  I hope I can get past this--I just miss Abby so much and felt so bad to see her go downhill.  My husband doesn't seem to have any problem and is just thrilled to have a new walking companion!

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