On 23 August, I phoned Alyce to tell her that after a morning at the State Park, hiking and swimming (which he seems to really enjoy, helping Cari bring in her stick), Astro had asked if he could join our pack. Our application is pending.
As he never answered to the name Astro, we are tentatively changing it to Gaspode, a dog character in Terry Pratchett's DiscWorld series, whose description quite matches him. Gaspode the Wonder Dog, bow-legged and wiry.
On 25 August, I wrote:
"Gaspode" is a nice name for a character in a book . . .
. . . but it doesn't fall trippingly off the tongue when you have to say it over and over and over.
Maybe 'cause we've never had to name a BOY dog before, we're having real trouble finding a right name for Astro/Gaspode . . . any suggestions?
If I choose your suggestion, I'šll make a donation to ADT Rescue in your name . . .
He's only about 10 pounds, so a gigantic name wouldn't work (I already tried Atlas).
He likes the freedom of running in a fenced back yard, and quite enjoys having us open the door for him so he can just take a run around the yard, and then come back inside.
"Oh, what fun we'll have, huh, April?" The three of them get along surprisingly well.
Astro and the newly-discovered toybox. Note the bellyband I made per Alyce's instructions, which we abandoned after the second day.
Astro came to us with four toys to his name - three balls and a squeaky newspaper. A crate, a leash, a collar with a chewed-up ID tag, medical records, and a container of puppy food. That was it . . . no information on commands he might know (he knows several and has a certificate of graduation from puppy obedience school), habits he may have, nothing. He quickly discovered the toy box, filled with dozens of various types of toys - pull toys, chew toys, soft toys, hard toys, squeakie toys . . . many of them gifts from ADT Friends. He has learned how to play tug with April & Cari; he has learned how to hold and chew a nylabone, and how to pull out the insides of the stuffies.
Oh Boy That's Mine!
From what I can ascertain, he is from a backyard breeder, who was not interested in his plight. Luckily for him, Cairn Rescue USA stepped in and saved another life.
I would also like to thank Eileen Czablewski of Cairn Rescue USA for her help, advice & encouragement.
Some other observations on this pup, who was born on 2 September 2002:
He loves chew toys and to exercise his teeth on hard toys . . . he is a water dog, which includes intruding on our showering. Luckily, he has not been able to climb into the bathtub yet, but I'm sure he'll try! He has passed the "Home Alone" test, as of 26 August, when we returned to work full time. Far as I can tell, they sleep all day so they'll have plenty of energy to play all evening and, if we didn't separate them, all through the night. Once you tell him "NO" about anything, he knows what he is not supposed to do and stops doing it. He has learned our household morning and evening routine quickly, and has integrated himself into the pack seamlessly.
CONTINUE WITH ASTRO'S STORY HERE
