Hopelessness has been a pretty great deterrent for my puppy lust. Nowhere around the university allows dogs, and I was too poor to even buy new bras. After paying bills, I would keep $30 to myself for the next two weeks: that's my grocery budget, my 'this will be fun' budget. I used to break it, buying cloths, but some maturity and the satisfaction of a great relationship with the love of my life (heretofore to be known as "Poppa-!") seemed to tame the buying hunger. Am I perfect? No. Maybe I got a little too excited about plants, and/or beta fish as soon as I started working 30 hours a week again. I like things, I like to nurture them. I don't want to wait for someone to post what I "need" on ksl all the time.
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(skip to the next chevrons for the good part.)
The story of how Shannen can finally afford a dog at the tender age of 25:
But enough about budgets for now. I got blessed, as in, the flippin' sky opened up and a rainbow dumped a shit-load of lucky skittles all over my year. Yes, the sour kind that sparkle. First I passed Linear Algebra and Differential Equations, and dynamics and all the rest, which opened up my schedule for the spring. I got an amazing job doing IT infrastructure documentation on campus, it had a lot of hours, and paid more than minimum wage. (A miracle!) I started saving for my Rainy Day fund in earnest. Thanks to Obamacare, I actually have health insurance, but its deductible is $500, so I wanted that available. Then there was another $500 for emergency living unemployed a few months. Then more, because, I dunno, maybe one day I will get my 3 wisdom teeth out ($650 if paid in cash the day of.) Or maybe I will finally buy a car.
Enter blessing number 2: Scholarship. A big one. Me??? Someone looked at me and said "She is worth free money!" Oh SWE, (Society of Women Engineers) thanks for getting me into extracurriculars!!! It would never have happened if I had not tried (and failed) the year before, AND some gold-hearted adviser took the time of day to say "you might win this time, try again." A shout out to my friend and two kind professors who took the time to write me a recommendation letter.
Blessing number 3: moving in with my lover! He happens to have an apartment in a place that hates on kitties (whaa-? :( why?) But allows dogs. (WHY?) It's at a discount as well, because I was going to move in with a friend for the summer and pay their utilities, so he matched her offer knowing his location was better for me... Such a business major! :3
Blessing number 4: INTERNSHIP. A fancy one. From the same company. (Public Relations shout out: Rio Tinto!) I had checked (tactfully) if the scholarship came with internship expectations, because of I had feelings of loyalty for my university job at the time. It didn't. Cool. 2 months later: someone dropped out and I knew you were interested, you wanna interview? 8| yess!!! (I had since realized that my facilities summer internship was no where near as high-level-skills-developing as a Rio Tinto one would be.)
Blessing number 4.5: I need a car! 4.75: I found a nice toyota camry for $2500! (Ladies, this is kind of awful, but I went to test drive it after training for my new job, and happened to be wearing an amazing pencil skirt. It helped with the price!) It has doors to the back seats for dog. Oh yes, I had started losing my resolve about waiting until after I graduated before Rio Tinto called me in May.
In this perfect storm is the ABILITY to buy and care for a dog. Not just in the summer, but through the winter as well. Next summer I will be more employable, and will work hard to never be separated from my furry companion. (I had a rotten situation out of my control in the teenage years. I am committed to NEVER repeat it.)
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And the story of how I settled on Jorah Mewmont, my soon-to-be darling puppy-child:
"Scout" That's the name of Poppa-!'s future dog. "Mittens" is the kitty we will get together. Scout is a husky, ideally with blue eyes. Since I lost my Hamlet to douch-baggery, I have had a hole in my heart for the dimension that a dog brings to your home. So whenever my dog-desires got unrestrainable, I would pour over research of different breeds that I fancy, (especially Dobermans) always ending up at Scout, because a dog is a two-student-schedule job, and that's what Poppa-! wants. I have nothing against Huskies. I even wanted one as a kid. Balto and all of that.
But then I learned about them. Oh god, we can't handle a husky.
What are OTHER dogs that look like Huskies?
Vallhunds!!! (I will have one one day; all of the 2014 litters were sold out, way over budget (yes, I DO have one for the dog itself) and/or ready to gome home... right around finals week of the Fall semester. "But I want a foul-breathed love-snott NOW!!!) In December I emailed many a vallhund breeder, about my desire to buy one in a few years. What are they like? How much do they cost? Can *I* train it? Pam was THE BEST response. Pam and the Fantasi SVs in Wisconsin. You want a stumpy love-dog in November? Contact her. She gave me the name of an agility trainer, whom I eventually met, and the dogs were even smaller than I expected. They liked me, I liked them! ahhh! :D
Well, that would be great for the time after we get Poppa a Scout. Since he didn't care for their dwarf legs.
To my IMMENSE relief, he figured that a German Shepherd would also be a fitting Scout. Then we read about the health problems. Naw... maybe not that. ...unless I import a hale one from Deutschland!!! They never replied to my email. Who am I kidding? Probably WAY too expensive.
Well, okay, at this point my reserves were all but GONE. Only Poppa's accountant rationality and my desire for his approval and support held me in check, but I was wimpering about it once a month. Sometimes there were tears. Poppa hates to see the tears. They just leak out.
Eventually Poppa said "I'm not in the position to pay for a dog right now, but if you want to get one and pay for everything, I'll help take care of it while you are working."
Once shit started to get real, I was having my doubts about my ability to properly exercise such a large, athletic dog while going to school. Poppa: "Yeah, we can handle her." I was thoroughly obsessed with the Beaucerons when I finally met the three Swedish Vallhunds. She had that warning face "You can forget to walk them once or twice a week, but they need there exercise." I can skip walking a WHOLE NIGHT??? :) "They have many cat-like tendencies." Hot damn. "She's normally very wary around strangers, she actually likes you! You can have her-haha, no, I couldn't bring myself to do it."
It is, after all, going to be MY dog. It doesn't have to be a Scout. Took a couple weeks for that to sink in. First the apartment had a lower age limit on dogs. "well that makes sense." So the Ca. breeder pointed me to her friend, who had a 9 month old girl that was already trained in the basic essentials. Man, were these ladies hard to get a hold of! Half way in a conversation, they'd drop off until I sent another email, or called. Get their number right away! They are sweet, but busy.
In the waiting, I got my resolve, and contacted Pam again. November. Slightly over budget. awwww... :( But Pam is a glorious angel, and recommended another breed. "I have a friend who breeds Berger Picards in Minnesota and just has WONDERFUL dogs." I looked 'em up. Something about the moppy heads... touched my heart the way those Beauceron puppies never managed. (I thought I was cold. "Guess I don't like any kind of baby!") I sent the fleet of emails to all the american breeders I could find. Did not take very long. By now I had spoken to so many breeders about my intents that I basically had a puppy cover letter. "I'm a student, I want to jog with my dog, I want to take up the hobby of agility, maybe carting..."
I was impatient to hear from anyone. ANYONE. So I texted the 9 mo old lady, to hash out some solid numbers. Somehow I agreed on a price, as in "sold!" but she didn't take the time to give me her paypal. Shortly after, I heard back from Beth in Arizona.
Hello Shannen,
Thank you for writing. I do have a litter of Berger Picards, 14 weeks old, and 2 are available.
They are potty trained, crate trained, leash trained, wormed and vaccinated, and microchipped.
They are $2000.00.
Please call me at ########## to discuss this breed and this litter further.
Cordially,
Beth Toraason
It was a lovely letter, but I already committed! and boy, that's 2k, and she wanted me to call and communicate to her with my voice. I did the mature thing: I ignored it for a day or two.
Then I kept seeing her kind letter when I was checking for a response from miss curt-and-don't-want-to-get-paid, and guilt drove me to craft an similarly lovely letter, stating the thought I had put into it, but it was "double over my budget."
Reply:
Hi Shannen,
Thank you for your prompt reply. You didn't "bother" me, as I can talk about these fabulous dogs all day.
You mentioned agility - do you have any other ideas/plans for your new family member? I am looking for homes that will be active with their dogs, and that will consider conformation showing and/or breeding the puppy after it reaches 2 years of age. I've had 2 professional trainers say this is an exceptional litter, and I would like the pups to get positive exposure to showcase our breed and my dogs.
Do you want a male or a female? I would be willing to co-own a male with the objective to use him for breeding once after he reaches 2 years of age, or a female for a puppy back at 2, if we evaluate the quality as being worthy of breeding. The price in that case would be $1000.00.
Call me @ ###-###-#### if this might fit your plans.
:o Well dayummmn! Why didn't I wait?!
I crafted an elaborate silver lining, I would help this kind soul, by telling the state Agility group about her puppies. Then I did something unlike me, because I have been sensitive to my crutch with emails and text: I called her to say what I had done. And in the conversation I said "this is a big decision! It's like 14 years."
Dear Karla,
Shortly after our conversation on sunday I was contacted by a breeder of Berger Picards in arizona. Since we already agreed in a price for buying Ilea, I did by best to disengage cordially. She replied kindly with a question, so I reached out to my agility network to see if anyone else wanted to do business with her, then called to give her an update. We ended up having an amazing conversation about her dogs and family, she emailed me some videos, and my heart has been stolen.
I feel awful about letting you down. If I could nurture both dogs I would buy each, but I feel a much stronger connection with Beth, and believe that the Picardi will be a better fit at this point in my life. I really hope that Ilea finds the perfect forever home; a better fit than what I could have offered her.
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To Poppa-!:
I called her to say "I dunno how into agility I can be right now, but I told other trainers about you" "Don't worry about it, now is when you play. I'm not desperate to place my kids, I am desperate to place them in the RIGHT home." And we sound like a great fit! Basically, oh my goodness, the way she described training and playing with the puppy is how I imagine doing it, playing, and short training sessions. We made a real connection. Conformation would thrill her even more than agility, it is easier on their cute little bodies. Did I say I want one of these now? Because I totes do. And lets face it, all the parents around the apartment would be a lot more comfortable seeing "wynn dixie"(? Never watched it.) around their children than a lovely german shepherd-doberman mix. Liability.
1)sheds less 2)a famous "sense of humor" 3) "talks" like huskies do 4) house dogs, they like being inside with their people, on the couch and the bed 5) she literally said "they like to go outside and do a patrol, make sure there isn't any- *stranger danger*." 6) we can be part of saving an beloved yet endangered breed that has been decimated by the two world wars! Is that 'bigger than yourself' or what? 7) Not my usual look, but they are sooooo cute when moving!
enter videos
random sample of puppies
random adolescent--the way he hops with snow-joy!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7tyyzDa-pw
cute little "whisper" trick? It's a doggey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=un4xrQSb6O8
random stills that showcase more elegance and cuteness, as well as skeelz
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KMpYVM9biQ
This is Chester, her "rock star" aka what the puppies will probably grow up to look like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zN0E7MzRFEQ
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Well, my puppy is a dark brindled fellow, not one of the fawn creatures that those videos charmed my heart with, but I am chalking up the lack of "eeeeeee!" to camera settings, and expect him to steal my heart quickly in person. As a teenager I saw a brindled boxer and thought he was the most glorious form of dog I could own.
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Oh my goodness, update! Beth likes our new name for him!!! It makes my heart swell up with relief that the grandmaster-momma approves. Plus she is bad-ass, because she said they had been thinking of Jor-el. (vs Jerome)
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I believe that all of the tangents and delays led to me finding the perfect new family member for Poppa-! and I. Other dogs were fascinating and desirable, but I felt like I would have to re-shape my current ways a lot around a beauceron, and Poppa-! wasn't the most thrilled about the vallhunds (plus they are a quite a bit smaller than I imagined my jogging protector would be), but Jorah just feels... RIGHT. And I think a lot of that is not only breed, but Beth. She is wonderful to hear from, and as helpful as Pam.
Here is Beth's website.
(I'm so proud of myself, I figured out how to make fancy links on here.)
Here is my corny moment.
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| I am so excited!!! |
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