Adoptaversary

Happy Adoptaversary (2 years)

Today marks 2 years since I adopted Luke (or, we adopted each other).

So, two years ago today I drove down to Kent and waited in the sun for the Columbia Basin Rescue to deliver my little man. I was so nervous--and hot (remember when Seattle got hot?). I had talked to the rescue worker and she reported that Luke was a good dog. She told me that Luke had been brought to the shelter by a family who had two dogs and could only take one to their new home in Nebraska. I've bought into enough conspiracy theories to have wondered if this was the true story or if this is what they tell many potential adopters. There is always so much traffic in Seattle and the rescue group was SO LATE. I was standing in the sun watching other dogs go home. I was getting burned and I almost gave up. But, then I saw Luke. He was so cute and happy. I had meant to play for him for a while and "test-drive" him, but I just said hello and wrote the check and signed all the paperwork! I did stop to have him micro chipped and that was harsh. He doesn't like the medical treatments and he was a squirrel during the implantation. I felt like a bad new person as I was offering him trauma within the first moments of our relationship.

First Photo

However, after we walked out of the adopt-a-thon (I could tell others were looking at my good find), Luke jumped right into my car and I drove us to PetCo (because it is where the pets go!). I was so fortunate that the spa had an opening for a bath. It not only helped to clean Luke up, but it also gave me time to buy a crate, bowl/dish, food, and Kong. I was at a loss in the store. I didn't know what food to buy and I asked a sales clerk and she told me there was no way that she would feed her dog anything that Petco sold. Um...

I went home, set up Luke's room, and then went back to pick him up. The groomer told me that he was good, but he didn't like having his teeth brushed (again, with the medical treatments). He had also just sat in his bowl of water so his butt was a little damp!

We came home. I wondered what Luke thought: all the rugs were up (I didn't know if he was a chewer) and it was a new home. He sniffed around (ok, I was concerned: was he going to mark? No! Apart from being really sick, never an accident in the house) and looked a bit weary. I took some pictures (the first of thousands--the first few are featured in this posting). He was crate trained so I put him in his crate and we survived our first night.

I wasn't 100% sure that I would survive that first week. It included giving Devra (in her role as the vet) a call at 5 am because the typically quiet Luke was hacking/barking. He had kennel cough. That week, thugs tried to steal my car and I was going to help with kid's camp in a park (and, of course, I was going to bootcamp).

From living in the crate every night and when I was away from home, to having free reign (really, reign) of the house...we have thrived over these two years. The first time my friend Devra came over to visit, Luke barked sharply. Now, Luke just barks because it takes too long to open the door for others to give Luke-love. Two obedience sequences later, Luke has taught me the commands for sit, stay, come, etc. He is the world's best fetcher and swimmer.

Thanks, Luke for coming to live with me. It has been a good two years.