An early Valentine's present for Dev

Introducing our new dog, Sancho!

 

Our friend (and inveterate dog lover) Melissa Sarrett was out driving on January 26 when she found this little dog running around lost in the street, nearly getting hit by passing cars. She got him into her car but she was unable to keep him herself because she has two greyhounds that consider all tiny dogs to be prey.  So she very reluctantly turned him over to the Los Angeles East Valley Shelter in Van Nuys. 

 

Melissa took these pictures of him after she picked him up and put him in her car:

 

 

He had no collar or microchip; the shelter tried to find his owner without success.  After no one claimed him, he went up for adoption on Saturday.

 

Dev really liked the dog and thought about taking him but then we decided three dogs would be too many. But I could tell Dev really wanted him - and Melissa wanted him to go to a good home, too.  So I secretly went to the shelter that Saturday and adopted him, then picked him up and brought him home on Monday after he was neutered.

 

His gift tag reads, "Love is a Burden."

 

The shelter identified him as a Dachshund/Chihuahua mix, which looks about right, but we ordered a DNA test to confirm. He weighs 10 lbs and is around 2 years old.

 

He's housebroken but doesn't know sit, stay, etc. We signed him up for an obedience class that starts Thursday (yeah, yeah, I know - but at least that way we can say we tried). So far he hasn't manifested any bad habits except begging for food, but then, we'll have to wait and see what happens when he gets a little more comfortable ...

He likes to perch on things like a cat.

Before agreeing to take Sancho, I worried about Shackleton and Cromwell.  Would a new dog be too stressful for them, especially now that they're getting older? Would they feel jealous, like they were being replaced? Or maybe the opposite would happen, and the presence of a peppy younger dog would give them newfound energy and excitement?

 



Taking a walk tied to Cromwell



Well, so far Sancho has never ruined their lives nor resurrected them.  They accepted him with mildly positive indifference.  Sancho really wants Cromwell to play with him and Cromwell wants to be left alone to sleep - though Sancho has forced Cromwell to go a little faster on walks, which is probably good for that overweight dog.

 

Sancho loves the kids and they love him, though I do worry a little about them being too rough with him because despite his youth and good health, he seems a little fragile - but then, Cromwell wasn't that much bigger than 10lbs when we first got him, either.

 

So - I'm still holding my breath a little bit, but unless something goes awry in the next few days, it looks like we have a new dog!