We weren’t looking for a third dog – not at all. …But she was looking for us.
This story all begins months ago when I found out that Petfinder had launched an iPhone app. Now anyone who knows me knows that my iPhone is pretty much glued to me at all times, so I decided to download it and try it out. I tested it out by putting in my postal code and let it find the dogs all around me. The app has a favourites button and I started favouriting dogs that I thought were cute to see how it worked. One of the dogs I favourited never really left my mind.
A few weeks ago my Mother decided she wanted to adopt a dog and in the search for a dog, I came across the same little face, still waiting for her family. I thought to myself that someone will adopt this sweet little girl and tried to forget about her.
But I couldn’t…
Fast forward to three weeks after and the sweet little face was still there, on the website just willing us to come to our senses. Thomas and I talked about it and we thought a long time on how a third dog would affect our family. I spoke to several people about it for their advice and on Tuesday morning we sent in the application to adopt her. We heard back quickly, by that afternoon and had an appointment to meet her on Wednesday evening.
From the moment we were approved we knew she was a part of our family. After speaking with one of the amazing volunteers at Animatch, I knew that this little girl was exactly like Paddington was at her age – a spunky little ball of energy that never stops moving.
So everyone, I’d like you to meet Wellington (or Wellie for short), our newest family member. She is a one year old ShihTzu/Yorkie mix and she is just wonderful. She is getting along with Paddington and Corduroy very well and we couldn’t be happier.
I haven’t told many people this but for the past while I’ve felt that there was a little soul out there searching for us, and now I know that it was Wellington.
She was just waiting for us to come to our senses.
Some videos if you read more
If anyone has any tips and tricks for integrating a rescue dog into your home (with other dogs) I welcome the advice!! I’ll be blogging about our adventures as we go!
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Liz Bradley is a dog lover who lives in Ottawa, Ontario with her husband,
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In my experience its important to integrate them asap into the “pack”. As soon as we get a new dog, we go right to the dog park and I put the new dog on a twin leash with Paul, my best dog. We walk together so the new dog knows a)I’m the boss and b)everyone else is equal.
On a side note, my dog Emma almost snapped her head clean off twisting it to the side listening to your dogs bark in the video LOL!
Hi Liz!
Congratulations again! Wellie is adorable!
I grew up in a household with 3 dogs and the last addition was a collie-retriever mix, who was also a rescue. My advice for integrating a rescue dog into your home is to do a lot of ‘pack’ activities.
It is easy to give the newest bundle of joy all the attention because of her background, which can alienate the other dogs and cause some ‘jealousy’ issues. My family and I never had that problem, because we did everything as a happy little pack. Long walks, lots of play time, even snuggle time!
When the rescue pup did need some extra attention (as she did, because of her harsh background), we made sure that she got one on one time with a member of the family while the other dogs were taken out for a run. That way nobody is left out and everybody is entertained and feels part of the family.
Anyway…rambling now…could talk about rescues forever! Congrats again! And pretty pictures!
Congrats! I saw her on Animatch when I was on their site eyeing up another of their dogs! :] She’s a cute little monkey.
I’m so happy for you and for Wellie. They look like they get along amazingly!
Thanks all – this is great advice. Keep it coming!!
Congratulations on your new addition! I integrated a third little dog to my home last year after living with only two for 5 years. You might find, as I did, that it changes the dynamic of the relationship between the original two in interesting ways.
With our third dog, we didn’t have to teach her anything. One of the great things about rescues is that they often come with some tricks and knowledge. Besides, anything that they need to know about the rules of the house and the routine, they’ll mostly learn from the other two.
I’d say just keep the rules of the house, treat them all the same, make sure they all get some individual time, watch the dynamic unfold, and enjoy all that puppy love! Oh yeah, one more thing – learn how to pet all three at once. Hint: the forearm comes in handy.
Yay for you!!! So happy for you, she is a real cutie!
Enjoy!
Congrats on the new addition to your family:)
Awwww congrats! Wellie’s adorable!
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