Hickory arrives

Yesterday afternoon, while Bud drove home from Altoona (about 5.5-6 hours), my mother and I drove to Hurricane, WV, to meet Peggy Stein of Tagalong kennel and purchase Hickory.

For the first 20 minutes he whined and howled, certainly missing his litter mates, his mother and grandmother, and his human guardians.

Mom and I continued to chat, ignoring the din immediately behind us, and soon he ran out of juice. He curled into a ball and slept while we made good time north on I-77.

About 40 minutes from home I had to stop for gasoline and, when we started out again, we were being sung to. I gave a short, sharp “A!” and he immediately stopped, laid down, and went back to sleep.

When we got home at 11:00 pm, Bud came out to meet his new puppy. They spent about half an hour in the dog yard, seeing if Hickory needed a potty break. We were all in bed by midnight and Hickory, after what must have been an exhausting and confusing day, put himself to sleep with barely a whimper.

All our other dogs seem totally accepting of this baby invader. All the old girls are giving him a free pass. Red, who travelled with me to pick up Hickory, seems a bit smitten with him. She’s 5 and needs a baby boy.

We’ve set up an ex-pen and a crate near Bud’s office and his side of the bed. I expect Hickory’s transition to our home to take just a few days as he’s adjusting quickly.

The trip to Hurricane was billed, jokingly, as Mom’s Mother’s Day gift.  Five and a half hours of one-on-one quality time in my truck with me, and only about 30 minutes of it filled with whining and howling. I explained that she can’t expect a major gift like this EVERY year for Mother’s Day. This was special, clearly. <g>

Tags: basic dog obedience, Bud Houston, dog agility, dog performance sports, Marsha Houston