Say Hello to My Little Rascal

                              Welcome to our blog!

Act serious, Max!

All stories have a beginning. Ours begins with a click and a meeting, but more on that in a little bit. Months ago, my family and I decided that the right time had finally come for us to adopt a dog. We were traveling less and would be able to dedicate time to a new member of the family. Why not get a cat? I love cats too but I wanted to be able to walk in the park and run with a dog outside.

I had wanted a dog before Lassie was a hero, before that boy had a dog named Skip, and before Wishbone was solving crimes (anyone remember that little fella?) It was also a lifelong dream of my parents' and my sister's as well. My sister and I (let's call her A) had volunteered at an animal shelter in Queens where I found Max. I had gotten into the habit (not a healthy one I might add) of going to their website and looking at what dogs needed homes. What were we looking for? Someone smaller and who was friendly, social, and appropriate for first time owners because that's what we were. So there I am browsing through a catalog of orphans in late June, when I spotted a dog that seemed right. Love at first sight? I don't know, but he seemed intelligent somehow (as silly as that sounds). So we went to the shelter to meet him and he was still there waiting (for us). After we filled out an application (somewhat frantically because there were others interested) we received a call and got our house checked. The woman from the shelter told us we could pick him up the following Monday because he still needed some of his shots. I almost fainted on the living room carpet when she said we were going to have a dog!!! Oh and the trouble and fun begin...

Before

After

Fast forward and let's take a look at Max. He is a one and a half year old Maltese mix. His history and background are pretty murky but we know he was moved around a lot. The strange thing is that he shares a birthday with my dad (our dad, sorry Max!) I wish we had more information on him. I expected him to very peppy, smart and cuddly. He is and so much more...He is also very quick to bite rather than growl as a warning, as our trainer had told us. We had hired a trainer in the weeks following the adoption. We discovered aggression issues he had that freaked Max and us out a little bit. Ah the trainer, what a kind calm person. Unfortunately, her rates (which are not unusual/unique) ended up at a whopping total of $500 which was just more than we can afford right now. But we were not to give up on him and I knew he was our responsibility now and trainer or no trainer he was getting trained. Since July, I am thrilled to say that Max has improved dramatically from the state he was in. He is feeling more secure and comfortable around us. I know that he is on his way to being very happy, but of course our work is far from being done. 

So here I am, an immature and amateur dog owner who has turned to her other passion, books, to help remedy his unwanted behavior and get him as happy and healthy as possible. Follow our tails (sorry, I couldn't resist!) as I navigate through the book world in search of answers.