So I talked to my dad’s friend Joyce (our barber), and she put me in touch with the animal shelter. I’m going to see how things go tomorrow with Tunch, and if there is no fighting, the new dog (mom and I are alternating between “Rita” and “Rosie” and “Aggie”) can stay until I can find her real home or figure out what to do with her.
The new dog is surgically attached to me and sits at my feet, and Lily’s nose is a little out of joint. I tried to call Lily, and she turned her head away from me as if to say “slut.” On the other hand, we went to the park where they can safely run without a leash, and they romped around a bit with no issues.
I’m also starting to think the new dog is pretty obviously pregnant, which adds a whole new dimension of fun to this ordeal. She also can not operate stairs (Lily couldn’t either when I got her), so if nothing else I can banish her to the basement when Tunch comes home (assuming there are issues).
She’s just very clearly a house doggie, though. I sit down and she and Lily both jockey for lap space, I took a little nap and they both got in bed. I’m horrified at the possibility that she got out of her collar and someone is running around frantically looking for their doggie- Don’t worry strangers! Lily and I got your back!
Tomorrow I will take her to my vet and scan her for a chip. I need to get one put in Lily and Tunch, so I guess we can do that all at once.
licensed to kill time
If you sit with her and lay your hand lightly on her tummy, you ought to be able to feel her puppies moving around. If in fact she is pregnant.
Hoo boy, John Cole-you picked up a doozy! (I said doozy, not floozy!)
Mike Kay
what a nice story.
beltane
Tunch will not be pleased. May I suggest calling the dog Rosie rather than Rita. Every Rita I’ve known has been a fanatical Roman Catholic; you don’t want the dog preaching to you.
We would take her in a second if you were closer by. My husband has always wanted a Jack Russell terrier, and our dog is tired of being outnumbered by cats.
demkat620
Aw, this is why I love this place.
You are a good man John Cole, a very good man.
geemoney
Good luck! You deserve webfortune.
taylormattd
Hehe. I knew it. I sense a new sibling for Lily.
jl
I say Cole should get a chip too, so Tunch can zap him whenever bedtime snack is forgotten, or too skimpy, or wanting in some other respect.
Betsy
Aww, Cole, I heart you.
Don’t call her Aggie; you’ll get a bunch of pissed off Texas fans giving you shit.
licensed to kill time
Also, I am really REALLY interested in how Tunch will take this new development! Be prepared to be shunned and looked upon with utter derision by your Feline Overlord.
Skepticat
When is Tunch coming home, and will there be video?
Mnemosyne
If there are puppies-to-be, at least you have a website to pimp them from. Maybe a sweepstakes? ;-)
Mnemosyne
@Skepticat:
If you’d like something to tide you over, here’s the late great Boris when we brought him home after a tooth-cleaning.
Apparently anesthesia and catnip do mix, because he was a happy happy boy who couldn’t stop purring.
Violet
OMG puppies! If she does have several buns in the oven, you are going to have quite the house. I hope she’s got a chip and you can find her no doubt frantic owners and everyone will be happy. But whatever happens, you are doing such a good thing. She’s in good hands with you.
The name Rita conjures up memories of a mean hurricane, so maybe go with another choice? I like Jackie-O, as someone suggested in a previous thread. Jack Russell Terrier, get it? She’s a looker, that’s for sure.
JenJen
Dammit, Cole!! I don’t come to this godforsaken site to read stories that make me just say “ohhhhh!” and smile and maybe even shed a litter tear. Knock it off.
demimondian
If she is pregnant, of course, the possibility that she was dumped *because* she was pregnant raises itself…
ETA: it happens with pets, just like with kids.
The Dangerman
Lovely Rita, meet her, mates!
fourlegsgood
@Betsy: This is true!! do NOT call that sweet doggie “Aggie.”
Rosie works.
R-Jud
@The Dangerman: Curse you, I was trying to think of another pun along those lines.
I am kind of against “Rosie”, but only because that’s my name.
At any rate, if she is preggers, you’re gonna have to come up with a lot more names.
fourlegsgood
Also, Tunch may not be pleased, but Rosie might be used to cats and it may go just fine. She may even really LIKE cats. Many house dogs do.
Also, people that abandon pets deserve to have very, very, very bad things happen to them.
My girl Ripley was an abandoned kitteh. Luckily, Maddie and I gave her a forever home. Everyone lived happily ever after.
lawguy
I like the update. Hope she isn’t pregnant. Of course if she isn’t catholic you could have that little problem taken care of. That is what we had to do with the pit mix we rescued. She didn’t seem to mind.
Tom Traubert
@demkat620:
I was about to express the exact same sentiment; good thing I browsed the comments first. Instead, I’ll just say how much I agree with yours.
jeffreyw
The speaker hidden in the bird feeder continues to provide relief from summer ennui.
HRA
I may be wrong though I am leaning towards the cute doggie being dumped. I say this with the knowledge of how Ginger came into my daughter’s family life a few years ago.
They found Ginger in their backyard with no collar. Went around the neighborhood and further asking if anyone owned her. They took her to the vet. He said she was a baby mill and she was still young -actually too young in his opinion. Ginger was a very small pit bull and loved us all. She died after 8 years. We miss her.
You’re a good man, John Cole.
Zuzu's Petals
And I cannot WAIT to see that post.
daveNYC
I’m probably going to hell, but if she’s knocked-up, have you given thought to an abortion? Otherwise you’re going to be trying to place a pile of pups or taking care of them yourself. Tough either way.
fourlegsgood
My girls have chips. Always makes me feel better even if they don’t ever go outside.
mr. whipple
Imagine being Tunch. You get taken to the dentist, and come home to find a new dog. As if going to the dentist isn’t bad enough.
Stock up on tuna.
Mnemosyne
@fourlegsgood:
Your Maddie looks a lot like our Annie. We call her our miniature Maine Coon because she looks exactly like the classic Maine Coon cat (including the tufted ears and fuzzy toes) but she’s only about 8 pounds.
Here she is with Keaton, who at 13 pounds is the more standard Maine Coon size (though he, too, is probably a mix).
mr. whipple
@Mnemosyne:
HA! Gorgeous!
Mnemosyne
@daveNYC:
As with humans, it would depend on how far along she is (if she is pregnant and not just fat). Early days, it’s a more expensive spay, but that’s about. Further on, the potential danger to her might not be worth it as far as the vet’s concerned.
Mnemosyne
@mr. whipple:
Last time I took Keaton to the vet, we had a new doctor and the vet literally could not stop talking about what a beautiful cat Keaton is. He must have said it at least three times.
Just wait until he gets a look at Annie. She’s our beauty queen — those pictures really don’t do her justice.
Brian J
@HRA:
Our previous dog, an adorable Cocker Spaniel we named Rusty because of his color, was found on the side of our house, bleeding from his penis–in a cage, in the rain, if memory serves me correctly. Our neighbors from across the side street found him and took him in for a day or two to clean him up. They asked my mom if we wanted him, because just a few years earlier, we had to get rid of another Cocker that bit a couple of people. Her response was that she needed another dog like she needed another kid, hopefully somewhat sarcastically. (I’d take offense, but I’m one of five, and at this point my dad had died less than ten years earlier, so I can understand her point of view.) But our pleading worked. After a week or so in the shelter, just to make sure everything was legal, we adopted him. I’m so glad we did. He was one the most loyal creatures I’ve ever known.
Rusty unfortunately died my senior year of high school. A month or so before I left for college, my mom was ready for a new one. Our current dog, a black Cocker named Shadow, was given to us by a lady for a week to see if she was a good fit. We are still waiting to hear back from her. Her phone number must still be out of order [sarcasm]. Now, while most female Cockers are supposedly nervous, this one would pee any time someone touched her. Unless she had spent a lot of time around a particular person, she would shake while someone was petting her. She refuses to get as close to males as she does to females, although I am making progress with her now. She had to be abused before we got her, almost certainly by a male. She’s far more of a house dog than Rusty was, but she’s a nice dog in her own way.
Litlebritdifrnt
If she is pregnant, and if she is too far along for a termination, it would be interesting to see what the puppies are, if they are pure breed JRT then she obviously belonged to a breeder, in that case it would be much easier to find her owner. Whatever happens I too look forward to the anniversary post!
D-Chance.
Alex Jones bait.
The man who appears before Congress with a method of cleaning up the Gulf Oil leak is suddenly granted entry into the CFR. Why?
Mnemosyne
@D-Chance.:
Am I confused? I thought it was Kevin Costner who had the super-magical process for cleaning up the leak. Did Clooney have an idea, too?
R-Jud
@D-Chance.: I think you are confusing the Clooney with Kevin Costner. Costner had the magical contraption, if I’m not mistaken.
abscam
When will the puppehs be available at the Balloon Juice store and will I have a choice of logos…or will they all say “OBEY?”
Svensker
Cole, you are nuts. And a very very nice guy. Hope that Rosie Rita has family who are trying to find her and you can put them back together.
Earl
John: Dunno if Virginia is different, but the price to chip my dog at the vet was $130. At the aspca shelter $40. fyi
WereBear
You’re such a sweet guy, Cole! Yes, there is a bit of “meant to be” here, even if it’s only helping her back to her owner.
Sounds like you are doing all the right things. And whatever the right thing is; may it come to pass.
By the way: Touchdown Jesus is no more.
Jebediah
Re the abandonment thing – we are pretty sure Milo was abandoned. Shortly after we took him in, we were out walking in a different neighborhood and my wife heard a kid say “Hey that looks like …!” I didn’t notice it happening, but she said the dad’s reaction made her very suspicious.
Fluck’em – Milo lived a long, pampered life full of love and lots of friends, who miss him and still get teary about it. (Not that I am right now typing this… no sirree…)
It’s the surgical-attachment thing that makes me think abandonment. She has lucked out and she knows it.
The Dangerman
@R-Jud:
Yeah, but I jacked up the joke; after a few seconds of mutt musings, it shoulda been:
Lovely Rita, meets her mates (at a new home).
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
OK, but please be careful of your shoulder. Two dogs, one jealous, the other possibly pregnant, and a hell cat itching to get its mean on just sounds like disaster waiting to happen.
Also, I swear they made a movie on what John is going through with this dog.
mr. whipple
@The Dangerman:
Touche’.
J.A.F. Rusty Shackleford
@beltane:
Yeah, but Rita is dangerous on the dance floor.
Keith G
Maybe she was out hunting down the father.
bemused
If she is pregnant, then my next thought is how pregnant is she? Like ready to pop at any moment pregnant? John, I hope you have the vet check out her belly while you’re there. The suspense is killing me.
General Egali Tarian Stuck
In one hour Obama will go to Korea, deliver his Gettyburg Address, and make the Sermon on the Mount, that will square his circle of world domination and sockalizing the lord profit/
And, has anybody seen my two Huckleberries?
Mnemosyne
@WereBear:
Check out DougJ’s thread about Burning Jesus below, but make sure you don’t have any liquids nearby. We have some very funny people who comment here.
MikeJ
I’m guessing dumped because preggers. Every dog owner should have a “I ♠ my dog” bumper sticker because it should be true.
Mary G
All dogs and John Cole go to heaven. Get your video camera ready for the introductions. We need to see everything.
John Cole
I really do not think the new dog is here for good, folks. She is very sweet to me, but aggressive like a JRT should be. She needs her own person.
fucen tarmal
might i suggest “rosalita”, sure the beatles-evangels won’t like it that you are paying homage to anything other than their teen obsession but, the lyrics are way cooler.
Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)
Spread out now Rosie, doctor come cut loose her mama’s reins
You know playin’ blindman’s bluff is a little baby’s game
You pick up Little Dynamite, I’m gonna pick up Little Gun
And together we’re gonna go out tonight and make that highway run
You don’t have to call me lieutenant Rosie and I don’t want to be your son
The only lover I’m ever gonna need’s your soft sweet little girl’s tongue Rosie
you’re the one
Dynamite’s in the belfry playin’ with the bats
Little Gun’s downtown in front of Woolworth’s tryin’ out his attitude on all the
cats
Papa’s on the corner waitin’ for the bus
Mama she’s home in the window waitin’ up for us
She’ll be there in that chair when they wrestle her upstairs
‘Cause you know we ain’t gonna come
I ain’t here on business
I’m only here for fun
And Rosie you’re the one
(CHORUS)
Rosalita jump a little lighter
Senorita come sit by my fire
I just want to be your love, ain’t no lie
Rosalita you’re my stone desire
Jack the Rabbit and Weak Knees Willie, you know they’re gonna be there
Ah, sloppy Sue and Big Bones Billie, they’ll be comin’ up for air
We’re gonna play some pool, skip some school, act real cool
Stay out all night, it’s gonna feel all right
So Rosie come out tonight, baby come out tonight
Windows are for cheaters, chimneys for the poor
Closets are for hangers, winners use the door
So use it Rosie, that’s what it’s there for
(CHORUS)
Now I know your mama she don’t like me ’cause I play in a rock and roll band
And I know your daddy he don’t dig me but he never did understand
Papa lowered the boom, he locked you in your room
I’m comin’ to lend a hand
I’m comin’ to liberate you, confiscate you, I want to be your man
Someday we’ll look back on this and it will all seem funny
But now you’re sad, your mama’s mad
And your papa says he knows that I don’t have any money
Tell him this is last chance to get his daughter in a fine romance
Because a record company, Rosie, just gave me a big advance
My tires were slashed and I almost crashed but the Lord had mercy
My machine she’s a dud, I’m stuck in the mud somewhere in the swamps of Jersey
Hold on tight, stay up all night ’cause Rosie I’m comin’ on strong
By the time we meet the morning light I will hold you in my arms
I know a pretty little place in Southern California down San Diego way
There’s a little cafŽ where they play guitars all night and day
You can hear them in the back room strummin’
So hold tight baby ’cause don’t you know daddy’s comin’
SLOW!
Chorus
Ya ya ya ya
Hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey HEY!!!
General Egali Tarian Stuck
@John Cole: Saw a jrt having a bad day once, then broke the back leg of a Doberman Pincer just because he could. They can be unpredictable with other dogs and have the PSI bite of a Hyena. They have made me nervous ever since.
ricky
Do not name this dog Aggie.
cbear
A movie? Shit, following Cole’s daily life is like watching 21st-century episodes of “The Little Rascals“.
I can’t wait to see what
JohnSpanky is going to do tomorrow.ricky
@Betsy:
Or Sooner for that matter.
WereBear
@Mnemosyne: Thanx, I shoulda known DougJ would be on top of the Breaking News.
HRA
@Brian J:
We were once gifted with a small Cocker Spaniel called Gillian. A cousin thought we needed a new dog for the last 2 kids left at home (we had 6) He was given the dog at a tavern. Gillian was very unstable. I had never seen a dog act like him. People acting like him -yes. Another relative decided to take him and took him to obedience school . She had him for 8 years before he died. I still think about him.
Now the two of us are home alone except for Tiki (2 yrs old) who is a Shorkie, a mix of a Shih-Tzu and a Yorkie. He looks like a Shih-Tzu. He was a gift from our children. He rules.
TuiMel
@John Cole:
See all those loopholes you left for us to drive our imaginations through? You have a rep as a softie when it comes to animals. Can you blame us for concluding you’ll find a way to make it all work? [Although, as an owner of a JRT, I will admit they do covet their peeps. It may be too much under one roof…]
Annie
@fourlegsgood:
Ripley is absolutely adorable. You are both lucky to have found each other.
@Keith G:
LOL:)
It breaks my heart that Rosie could have been abandoned. She seems so loving, and if anything our pets trust that we will look after and care for them. People who abandon their pets should be rounded up and put into a shelter, in very small cages, with their pictures taken and put onto a website.
CaseyL
@John Cole:
Aw. Sad, but wise. Gonna be rough on the poor thing, since she’s already attached to you – then again, she might attach to anyone who shows her the same kindness. (Which thought really makes me want to rip the ears off of whoever dumped her.)
Are there any JRT rescue organizations in your area? – your folks might know, since they’re JRT groupies :)
Scamp Dog
@Betsy: No, you should call her Aggie! Texas A&M fans will love it!
Especially me.
slag
I agree that you shouldn’t name the dog Aggie. If I were you, I would refrain from naming her at all unless she ever becomes yours to name. Don’t wanna get too attached.
stuckinred
@Brian J: Our black Cocker, Lil Bit, was dumped in a box at our vet. She had bladder stones, eyes so bad they took out her tear ducts and scratched constantly. She has now had cataract surgery on both eyes, gets three meds twice a day for life in her eyes and more oral meds for her anemia. And she’s the sweetest, happiest little girl in the world. And,yes, I already said all this earlier but I can’t help but reply to black cocker stories. . .
Oh yea, the big white guy, bohdisattva is a rescue too!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2702/4503557527_80c73bb6e1_o.jpg
Violet
JRTs are fantastic dogs, but very protective of their person. I’ve been bit (twice) by a JRT when the dog mistook me giving the owner a goodbye hug for somehow possibly harming her (as best as we can guess) The second time I was really careful, knew where the JRT was, and somehow, still, she managed to get over to where we were standing, leap up and bite me. Luckily it was through clothes, so it only left a bruise. The first time I bled for quite a long time. Still love the dog, though.
Donald
OT
This seems both bizarrely remarkable [a 21st-C. version of a Kipling tall tale from the outer reaches of the Empire] — and the kind of thing to (calmly) worry about when Senate candidates talk about taking out their opponents and the 2nd Amdt in the same breath.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/16/world/asia/16pstan.html
http://atwar.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/call-him-crazy-but-bin-laden-bounty-hunter-wasnt-far-off/
TaMara (formerly Bad Horse's Filly)
@John Cole: I don’t know why anyone here would think you’d rashly adopt an animal. We watched how carefully you chose Lily. You took your time, made sure it was a good match, made sure she was healthy and then you brought her home. And it seems you had Tunch a good long time before you decided it was time to add another pet.
This little puppy is in great hands – you’ll make sure she finds a good home, one way or another. Our story will have a happy ending, I’m sure of it.
D-Chance.
@D-Chance.:
I can haz FAIL?
Total fail.
:(
Rosalita
@fucen tarmal:
I happen to think that is a splendid idea
Annie
@John Cole:
Let’s remember this post and check back in a week:)
SIA
@beltane:
Betcha anything we could do some kind of a Balloon Juice daisy chain and get her from John’s to your place in a snap!
I agree; please don’t name her Rita. It has such a staccato sound. Go for Daisy! or Rosie!
(I knew this was going to happen when I read the first post – once you’ve named her, it’s all over)
SIA
@Mnemosyne: And a raffle for the person who can guess what the daddy was!
Mnemosyne
@TaMara (formerly Bad Horse’s Filly):
Probably because that’s how most of us ended up with animal #3. Keaton and Annie were very carefully selected and pondered from Happy Strays. Charlotte walked up to G in a parking lot and demanded that he take her (and her sister) home.
As G likes to say, the third one is always a surprise. ;-)
Sam Wilkinson
There’s a missing dog poster in black and white at the new petstore in downtown Morgantown. Dog looked similar-ish. Maybe this dog?
Raenelle
Me, if she doesn’t have a chip, I’d assume I was stuck with her and have the vet abort the puppies and spay her.
eco2geek
You should put up “Found Dog” signs like Matthew Baldwin (aka defective yeti) did.
If we were in the same situation I’m not sure what we’d do to make our Akita (who’s nice to us, but aggressive to other dogs – actually, to other animals, from cats to raccoons) leave the poor dog alone. Good luck – she’s a pretty girl.
Frank
Where I grew up, people would dump unwanted pets.
It is a cruel thing to do.
You’re a good man; I knew that when I IM’ed you several years ago and you treated me with respect and courtesy.
Picking up and taking in a lost dog is just more evidence of that.
asiangrrlMN
Keep us updated, Cole. I’m sure we’re all breathless to hear what’s happening to her. You are a good man, John Cole. I know you will do what’s best for the little girl.
@fourlegsgood: Ripley and Maddie are just too cute for words.
@Mnemosyne: Your cats are amazing. And, I loved the video of Boris stoned out of his mind.
@stuckinred: Your dogs look so healthy and happy. They are both cute–especially Lil Bit.
josefina
@John Cole: Some dogs are meant to be only dogs. If Rosalita is one of these, you’re absolutely right to listen to her. Someone mentioned contacting a rescue organization, which is a good idea. It looks like there isn’t a JRT rescue in WVa but Russell Rescue looks promising. Also, you might ask the breeder who sold the 2Gs to your parents.
That said… a second dog will come into your life, sooner or later. I was perfectly happy with one dog. Over a couple of years, I fostered and helped find homes for 5 or 6 pooches who’d been abandoned at the local run; I was never tempted to adopt any of them. My last foster was a yellow mutt about 6 months old. I found her four different homes but none of them worked out, for weird flukey reasons unrelated to her or her behavior. I got the hint and she became Dog 2. She and Dog 1 got along just fine but once Dog 1 died, Dog 2 absolutely refused to allow another canine in the apartment. (She climbed aboard the lifeboat and pulled the rescue line up after her. Awfully Republican of her…)
Last Tuesday, Dog 2—the dog I never sought out, the dog I tried to give away—died in her sleep. She lived with me for 14 and a half years and every single one of those days was better for her presence. Not just for me and mine. People on my block, people in my community garden, have told me they’ll miss her happy eyes, made cards for her, cried when I told them she was gone.
All of which is to say: John Cole, you’ve said adopting Lily was the best decision you’ve ever made. There may well be another best decision in your future, one that has little to do with your own decision-making. All you have to do is recognize it when it presents itself.
TrishB
@stuckinred: Hey, I replied to you in the other thread, but this one is newer and fresher. One of my dogs has cataracts as a result of her diabetes. We aren’t doing the surgery at this time, since despite what wingnuts tell us, unemployment insurance doesn’t provide Cadillacs and caviar. That kind of fun didn’t with the severance package, either. The cost of the surgery can keep us housed, fed, and medicated for a few more months, which seems the better option for right now.
How did the cataract surgery work for Lil Bit? It sounds like there’s a lengthy recovery process involved.
Ross
Oh my gosh, this is heart warming. I’m moving from Seattle to Baltimore in ~6 months and driving cross country … would consider picking her up if the timing were better.
Anne Laurie
@TrishB:
If your dog is diabetic, does your vet really want to put her through “elective” surgery for cataracts? I am not a professional, but this I know: Dogs are much less vision-dependent than humans. It’s not like they need to surf the net, drive a car, or even fill out a job application. And they have dual coping strategies unavailable to us mere humans: First, they use their other senses much more efficiently; and second, they don’t fret about what they may be missing.
Unfortunately, the gene for PRA (progressive retinal atrophy) runs in the Papillon gene pool, so I have witnessed the behavior of a number of happy, functional, outgoing little dogs who could not even be identified as blind by a casual observer. Unless your dog is so big & strong that you can’t serve as her “seeing eye persons” and gently restrict her from stepping into trouble, cataract surgery may just not be the best solution even apart from the cost issue. We have put some ridiculous sums on our credit cards to keep a beloved dog with us a few weeks or months longer (as in, almost $5K during the last days of the Spousal Unit’s beloved Buta-Hime-Sama) but we have also learned that the best & most loving choice is not always the most costly one… and that a companion animal’s “best life” may not be identical to what we would choose for a human family member.
TrishB
@Anne Laurie: Thanks for the reply, as you seem to be one of the more knowledgeable pet people around here.
You’re mentioning many of the issues with the cataract surgery that I had right from the start. Pepper isn’t yet to the point where she can navigate the house without help, but she managed the stairs off the back deck to the fenced great outdoors pretty quickly. And no, at 16 lbs, she doesn’t need much restraint – a quick “wrong way,” covers quite a bit. The only time she fell down the stairs was when I left the room for a moment and she tried to follow in the wrong direction.
I just had a big scare with her that involved the E-vet. I thought the vomiting and shaking were hypoglycemia. Instead, by the time I changed out of my comfies, Pepper had peed a little blood. Turned out to be a bad UTI. I just wish she wouldn’t do that stuff after hours from the regular vet’s place.
But thank you for making me feel better about the decision.
Doctor Science
When I click on your first post about “Rosie”, the BJ tag line was: “This is how realignments happen.” Yup, it sure is.