Thursday, May 27, 2010

You'd Think I'd Learn

Well, we've got a new member of the family. A few weeks ago we got a new dog. Well, Emma really isn't new to the family as she's been my parent's dog for several years now. But it got to a point where they couldn't keep her and we offered to take her in. The girls have always loved Emma.

Emma is a Yorkie. Tiny, small, furry bundle of yapping cuteness that you'd think wouldn't fit in at the farm. Honestly, the goose is bigger than she is. But we really had no worries about her fitting in. She'd visited with us before, spending a week with us when my parents were out of town, and she did rather well. She loves the freedom of being able to roam...a little too much.

Actually, we brought Emma home the same week that my parents went out of the country to a conference in Calgary. It was the perfect time to make the transition. Despite the fact that she and Jack were a little wary at first, she did rather well. Her favorite thing is to run around the front yard barking at Eeyore from the safety of the other side of the fence. It's kind of funny.

But three days into her stay with us she disappeared. We couldn't find her anywhere. She wasn't inside and she wasn't in the yard or the pastures. We looked for an hour, walking up and down our road calling her. Nothing. I don't know about Zilla, but I was very worried about having to tell my mom that I lost her dog just days after taking her in. It was getting dark at this point and we were about to go inside, upset over the fact that we couldn't find her, hoping that she was just enjoying an explore of the neighborhood and would be home soon. Zilla made one more run down the street on the four wheeler to see if he could find her. I was ecstatic when I saw him driving up with her in his arms. Until I saw the blood streaming down her front leg.

In the chaos of trying to inspect the wound, figure out what happened and find out where he'd found her, I discovered that she had wandered several streets over...and I'm talking country streets not city blocks. In order to get there she would have had to cross several pastures and a very busy street. However, it's interesting to note that she was in fact heading in the right direction to go home to my parent's house. Turns out a very nice couple found her, called the number on her tag which we hadn't changed yet and spoke to my mom in Calgary. They were on their way to bring her back to us when Zilla saw them on the street. The best we can figure is that she cut her leg on a piece of fencing or metal in her travels. We were worried about an animal bite but there were no puncture wounds and she's so small that if another dog had gotten her she would have been torn to pieces.

What's funny is that she's this teeny, tiny thing that thinks she's invincible. She barely reaches Jack's knee but she's right there beside him, barking her fool head off and protecting us all from any perceived threat. She barks so hard that her little feet come off the ground. It really is funny to watch.

So we have a new dog. Oh, and did I mention that we said we'd take my brother and sister-in-law's cat? They've temporarily moved and couldn't take the cat with them. It just isn't fair for Strider to stay in that big empty house with only periodic visits to refill the food and water dispensers. So the brood is growing. Again.

Instigator

P.S. This blog is late because apparently Emma is photophobic (I realize that's probably not the right word but...) I wanted to put a picture of her up with the blog but every time I pulled out my camera she ran and hid. You probably can't tell but the only way I got this one was to corner her in the office and surround her with the girls so she had no where to run to. Maybe it's just me but I can see the fear in her face. Maybe she thinks it's going to steal her soul...

P.P.S. From Playground Monitor: My winner from yesterday is Beth Curtis. Looks like she has mad Google skillz like me. Please send your snail mail info to me and we'll discuss skillz which book you'd like.

9 comments:

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

Sucker.

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

Sigh. I know. :-)

Playground Monitor said...

Just what I was thinking. But poor Emma. What an adventure she had.

Problem Child said...

Wait... wasn't someone put on animal restriction?

Oh, that wasn't you...

Andrea Laurence AKA Smarty Pants said...

Zilla has managed to get around animal restriction either by letting Instigator get the animal (not his fault) or by getting permission to get two, then letting them breed like crazy (guinea pigs).

Cheryl said...

I honestly don't understand people who take in pets (that's a joke - you should see my menagerie). Poor Emma - such trauma! Hope she's ok. Maybe next time she'll take some pal, kind of an incredible journey of her own.

Sherry Werth said...

Emma looks so sweet! And yes..a little terrified.
After our Shepherd passed away last summer, I said never again. And then about a month later we rode out to the animal shelter and fell in love with a little fur ball. We had no idea what breed(s) she was but we brought her home anyway. Now our Molly Doodle can put her paws on my shoulders and look me in the eye. Guess we all have our weak spots. :-D

Denise said...

Oh, I love the name Emma, and your Emma is so cute!! I hope her leg is okay! Is she getting along with the cat? My family and I used to have three cats and a dog; our dog would chase our cats around the house until the cats learned to hide out on top of the refrigerator...

Kira Sinclair - AKA Instigator said...

Yep, her leg's fine now. Nothing a dose of antibiotic and some TLC couldn't cure.

Cheryl, I did wonder why she didn't take Jack (our other dog) with her. He loves to roam and knows the neighborhood.

Sherry, I love that visual of her on your shoulders. :-)

Denise, so far she's getting along fine with the cats. For awhile one of the cats would only look at her from up above so I don't even know that Emma was aware Savannah existed. Now they all curl up in the same bed...along with the girls.