I did no snarky fancy editing with comments on this vlog simply because I only had 30 minutes to get it all done and ready. Tonight is stress free night at the high school for teachers (so why am I stressing over being there? Ugh!) and then Prim's hair cut is at 6pm and then hockey at 7:45! So... insert your own snarky remarks — just kidding, I'm sensitive:)
I make no excuse for my behavior other than she is TOO adorable to NOT post this for the world to see. Beware of extreme amounts of cheese and "baby talk." Look for her tail!
When I introduced Prim earlier this week I mostly talked about the process that Dan and I have gone through but I really skimmed over our experience with Prim.
Like I mentioned, she's very timid and shy. Becky left her alone with us for about three minutes right away and Prim wouldn't come near us. She cowered over in the corner and she cried a little bit; it was so hard to not just pick her up and hold her! It really brought tears to my eyes to see how scared she was and how little she trusted people.
When Becky came back out, she gave us some treats for Prim (silly that we didn't think of that initially). We held the treats out but Prim still wouldn't come near us. Then Dan, the man that he is, decided to leave bread crumbs for Prim. It was amazing to watch! He put a little piece on the floor and she got down on all floors, crawled up, and took the piece of food. Then he put another piece a bit closer to us all the way until the point where she was eating out of our hands. After that, it was smooth sailing.
While we talked with Becky, Prim went between Becky, Dan and I and her bed. She'd lie down for a bit and then come check on us and then lie down and then check on us. It was adorable. She got to the point where she'd just beg for attention by putting her head on my knee and getting as close to me as she could!
Toward the end of the visit, Becky took us into her laundry room where she keeps the dog kennels to show us her two dogs and the other three dogs that she was housing. Prim came along but you could kind of tell she wasn't impressed with us looking at the other dogs. When Becky let a small Scotty out of the kennel Prim leaned all the way into Dan, again just begging to be touched... to be loved. She wasn't aggressive at all and I know that her and Pippin will get along fine — but I'm so excited to bring her home on Monday, to give her the attention and love that she so craves, and to be her forever family!
She really is the sweetest little dog ever! We are already spoiling her (I wish I was at home and could show you the large amount of toys we've already accumulated) and neither Dan nor I have been able to sleep because we're so excited. This weekend was supposed to be a fun weekend watching the Minnesota Wild, going to the Mall of America, and eating out our favorite place (Hell's Kitchen) — but now both of us can only think of Monday and bringing Prim home! We will be sitting watching TV and we'll look at each other and say, "the next time we watch this Prim will be sitting RIGHT here!" Then we talk about, "When we have Prim... " and all the fun we're going to have as a small little family.
We feel blessed to have had the last two weeks to get ready for her and to plan ahead and to get excited, but we are SO ready to have her here with us next week!
I would like to currently interrupt the BBRAW activities for a quick announcement. Remember last January when I proclaimed that I was expecting — well, here we go again!
Remember at the end of January when I mentioned (extremely late at night) that Dan and I had found the above little puppy on BisMan (Bismarck/Mandan's online classified ads)? Well, on Monday morning I called, then I called again, and I called again and never heard back from this lady. On Tuesday I called one more time and, with no answer, I decided the puppy was either no longer available or this was too sketchy to pursue.
A week later (Sunday night) I was online at Petfinder.com and I saw this SAME puppy at the humane society in Jamestown, ND. I emailed the shelter and with an hour had an update on her. Monday was spent emailing back and forth, asking questions about her history, temperament, etc, and talking Dan into going to see her. Late on Monday (2.6) night we set up a time to visit her on Tuesday as Becky (the foster mom) was going to be out of town on Wednesday through Friday) and the weekend didn't work for either Dan or I. So already, this was moving pretty fast.
Right after school on Tuesday, Dan and I got in the car and drove the 1.5 hours to Jamestown to see her. Boy were we surprised! The picture doesn't do this girl justice at all! Of course she was very shy and timid and didn't really want anything to do with Dan or I for about the first five minutes. At that point I was so nervous! I'm not used to dog's who don't have that "golden" personality that screams, "Here I am! Pet me, hold me, love me!"
Forty five minutes later she was playing with us, cuddling with us, and her tail didn't stop wagging. Becky said that on that Saturday they were taking her to a Meet and Greet at the local Petsmart so if we wanted her we should say something soon. We asked Becky for 24 hours to think about it (but really, let's face it, at that point we knew). We drove home and talked about, watched television and talked about, went to bed and talked about it, and on Thursday morning we called Becky and said "We can't live without this dog. She's already a part of our family!"
We didn't go pick her up right away because this weekend we are headed to the Twin Cities for a hockey game (Go Wild!) and while we do have family she could stay with, we didn't want to introduce her to another new environment so quickly. SO, when we return from the hockey game this weekend on Monday we will be stopping by to pick her up in Jamestown! This week and last week has been all about the arrival of PP (potential puppy). We've gotten a kennel, beds, toys (oh, the insanity!), and everything else we can think of! We've submitted our application (including three references) and last night was the home visit.
We decided on the name of PP before we even met her. While working out that original Monday I was thinking of names like Poet, Jazz (her "prior" name was Jasmine), and Prim. I knew Prim would be Dan's favorite because he loved "The Hunger Games" but the more and more I thought about it, I realized how fitting it would be! Prim, the younger sister who was saved from the Games. Prim, who grew from a timid, shy, almost helpless (in Katniss' eyes) into a strong, courageous young woman. How perfect is that!
Isn't she lovely! Expect more posts about our little Prim as the week continues and into next week (maybe even a Vlog appearance).
In case you were curious as to the timeline: January 29th, 2012: I posted about this dog I had seen BisMan February 5th: I see the same dog online at PetFinder February 6th: I email back and forth with Becky. We decide that Tuesday Dan and I will drive down to see her. Name is also picked out — Prim. February 7th: Dan and I drive to meet Prim for the first time February 8th: We call Becky and beg her to let Prim into our lives. February 13th: Two people from the Humane Society visit to make sure we live where we say we live and to talk about the adoption February 20th: We will be picking up Prim!!!
