Hill Top Motel - Kingman, AZ

We were very fortunate to be at our local animal shelter on that particluar day. A private shelter group had a dog that Holly liked and we completed the initial screening to be eligible to adopt that dog. The representative of the group informed us that several others had also expressed an interest in the dog. I read this as--"we are not getting that dog".

Despite some objections from my wife, we went down to the animal shelter to see what was available. During a visit a few days before, there were a couple of dogs that might warrent consideration if they were still there and available for adoption. There were 3 puppies in the puppy room. One was a black "furby-type" that was constantly making "cute" noises. Holly was partial to that one, but I asked her how that would go over after hearing this for a few days. The second pup was a light brown and white male. The third one was a small blonde female that watched every move that you would make.

We went back to the shelter office to find out more information on the puppies. Initially, they could find paperwork on only two of the puppies. After some discussion, they realized that the third puppy was scheduled to be put down later that afternoon. Upon hearing that, my wife stated that they were not going to kill that dog. We retrieved her and started filling out the adoption paperwork. All that was known was that she had been picked up in Golden Valley and was wearing a pink collar.

We started calling out names, hoping to get her to respond. When she heard Cleopatra, she responded. We did more names and eventually came back to Cleopatra again and got a response this time as well. She got a quick bath in the laundry room sink and it was off to the vet for shots and a check-up.

Puppy teeth are very sharp and she was quite a nipper. Both of us got more than our share of that. Our vet was very good at telling us that a quick pinch on the back of the neck is very similar to what a mother dog would do to her pups to dicipline them. After a few days, we got a pretty good handle on that problem. She apparently was younger that was initially thought and we started feeding her puppy formula. Her ears were folded over--one pointing forward and the other back. A few days into the formula feedings and one ear started standing up, and shortly after that the other followed suit. Compared with her head, her ears were enormous, and she would frequently tip her head to her left.

It is hard to realize that she could easily slip through the gaps in the pool fence (4"). After a few weeks she could no-longer do so. After snitching a sandwich off the kitchen table, we decided that the puppy formula could be phased out.