Let me introduce you...

I'm not sure if I told you all or not, but I was officially voted the Treasurer on the Board for our animal shelter here in town last week. Geez, was that only last week? I've been on the Board in an unofficial capacity since September, but we had the annual meeting to get us all elected last week. Anyway...

At the meeting, another board member told me that she had a friend who was trying to find a home for a little dog. She said she was "pretty much house trained" which didn't thrill me. Yesterday, I went to see the little bugger. For those of you who have been around for a while, you know what happened the last time I tried to bring in a new family member. If not, you can go here and read about how Bailey made the decision for me. Obviously, cats are not an option, but Bailey has always gotten along great with other dogs. So I thought this might be an option.

I told the lady that I was going to be honest with her. I didn't want to inherit someone else's problem. If she wasn't house trained, I needed to know that. She told me that the dog had only had an accident one time since she's had her, and that was when she let her have the run of the house for too long while she was gone. She assured me I could bring her back if things didn't work out.

So home I went with this little one in tow.

Meet Bristol, everyone. It was hard to get a good picture of her because she moves so freakin' fast! She is half Chihuahua and half Dachshund, which I'm told makes her a Chiweenie. My neighbor says that just makes her a Mexican hot dog. She looks to me like a mini-Dachshund with a Chihuahua face. She is about a year and a half old, and she's already been fixed which saves me that expense.

When I brought her in, I let her sniff the place a bit before introducing her to Bailey. Bailey was all kinds of excited! Bristol, not so much. The little snot kept snapping at Bailey. Bailey was a trooper though and kept at it.

Before too long, they were playing pretty well together, and they wore each other out. That was the whole reason I had considered getting another dog. I figured Bailey needed something else to entertain her. The only thing that worried was that Bristol kept biting at Bailey's face, and I was seriously worried she was going to get her in the eye. Sister #3 told me to just leave them alone and let them work it out. She said Bailey would let her know if she was really hurting her.

Anyway, I'm glad Bristol is kennel trained because I wouldn't dream of leaving the two of them to roam the house without me home. I'd be afraid Bailey would break her if Bristol got aggressive or did something stupid. She definitely plays and sleeps hard though.

I was worried that Bailey would have a problem with Bristol curling up in my lap, but she didn't seem to care. I made a point of petting Bailey and loving on her every time she came by though. She is and will always be my baby, whether this little one works out or not.

Toward the end of the night, this was the scene at my window. I wish the picture had turned out better, but I'll have to use my camera next time instead of my phone.

The best part was that Bailey hardly barked at anyone out of the window with Bristol there! Wooo hoooo! You have no idea how much Bailey goes crazy at anyone who walks by, rides by, and some who drive by the house. It was so refreshing not to have that last night and not to have to fuss at her about it.

When it was bedtime, Bristol went right in her cage, and I never heard a peep out of her all night. I think Bailey went to check on her a couple of times, but she had a good first night. We'll see how it goes, but we might just have ourselves a new family member.