Coming Home

"I've been waiting on this puppy for 20 years," Stephanie said. You see, her childhood pet got killed in a tragic accident twenty years ago, and for various reasons, she was never able to replace it. Apparently, it left a hole in her heart that needed to be filled. Last fall, after a 3 week long dogsitting venture, a small comment by me set in motion the path to fill it. I told her I was thinking about giving in to the puppy idea. That was all she needed to hear, and she immediately began scouring the internet to find the perfect dog for us. She stumbled upon a little site called Nancy's Westies, hosted by a hobby breeder in Arkansas. There, she picked out our new "child," the little red girl from Mairi's litter, so named because of the red scrunchie around her neck.


Deposits were sent, contracts were signed, payments were sent, and she technically became ours. Nancy added blurb to her website showing our little girl as taken, and that she would be "Layin' down the Law in Naples, FL."



Since it's been Steph's dream, and she did the legwork, primary naming rights belonged to her. She decided on Bailey, the last name of Boss and Champ, two prolific former UGA football players. I got to pick a name that will never be used, except in the papers we send into the AKC, and decided on Jordan (pronounced Jerden), after Shug Jordan, the famous Auburn football coach. So it was set, and all we had to do was wait.

The week she was supposed to arrive, we got a call from Nancy, letting us know she would be in Friday, a day earlier than expected. Since Stephanie had literally been counting down the days for at least a month, this extra day excited her, and she let out an excited squeal in her office. Everything was in order and we eagerly awaited her arrival at Delta Cargo. We tracked her online all day, from initial boarding in Arkansas, to a connection in Atlanta, to arrival in Ft.Myers. At last, Bailey was home.

She got out of the car, and did her business outside. YES! One for one. Our timid little puppy came in, did some exploring, did some inside business (dang, she's not perfect), and got used to us. It was amazing how quickly she went from scared, timid little puppy at the airport, to part of our pack. After a strong play session with every one of her new toys, she snuggled up on the couch with Steph and passed out. Literally, no warning, one second bouncy, tail wagger, the next eyes closed snoring. Funniest thing I've ever seen.

Finally, time to relax. I woke my two ladies up, and we headed towards the bedroom. Naturally, you wake a puppy, up, and it is no longer tired. We put her on the bed to wind back down, until she tried to fall asleep again. Since we're crate training her, into her carrier she went. Boy, did she not like that! I can imagine. First night away from home, no other dogs around, when there had always been several to snuggle with, and now you're stuck in this little dark box all alone. Yeah, I'd have a problem with that scenario, too. At that moment, though, we realized how loud a tiny little dog like her could whine. There's no way I'm sleeping tonight, I thought. Finally I realized that snapping my fingers distracted her, and eventually she laid down and passed out...for two hours.

One a.m., more whining, outside she goes to do what puppies do. Back in the crate, she cried herself to sleep in a matter of a couple of minutes. 3:45 am. More of the same. 7 am, guess its time to get up for the day. I'm exhausted, but we're at a better than 60% success rate with inside to outside bathroom duty, so I guess everything is going okay. We love her, and she seems to think we're okay as a replacement pack.

my apologies for the fuzzy camerphone images. The camera and video camera are both charged and ready to go for the future.