In the four months since losing our beloved Sasha, I haven’t wanted to think about bringing another dog into the family.  That hasn’t stopped folks from sharing photos and stories about dogs they’re confident would be “perfect” for us–from Chihuahuas to Golden Retrievers and just about every breed and size in between. As much as I appreciated their desire to help, I wasn’t ready.

And then I met this little munchkin:

Penny is a mix of who-knows-what breeds. Judging from her adorable whiskers,  she might have some kind of long-limbed terrier in her family line. Her coat is the color of a Doberman’s and sleek and shiny to boot, with a narrow white splash down her chest to her belly and at the tips of her toes. She’s 14 weeks old, weighs 8.1 pounds, and has an inexhaustible supply of joyful energy that suggests she could outlast the Energizer Bunny. Whatever breeds might be identified in a DNA profile, she’s part of the family now!

Buddy the Wonder Cat approves; watching the two of them together in the back yard, they’re already well on their way to being good friends. He stayed on our bed beside Penny’s crate through the night, tapping me when the puppy needs to go out.

She’s a fast learner and eager to please. She’s already responding to her new name, and demonstrating an increasingly reliable Sit–both on command and unprompted. (Peanut butter flavored mini-treats helped.) And, thanks to a vintage baby gate pressed back into service, I’ve even managed to sneak in a few lessons of Leave it when she tries to break out of the office where I’m working. When she hears that command, she immediately backs away from the gate and comes looking for reassurance and approval.

Other to-be-expected puppy behaviors will take more time. She’s already figured out that jumping up and clinging to our legs won’t get her positive attention.  We’ve already begun teaching her not to jump up on people. She caught on to the “four on the floor” behavior pretty quickly, but sucess is intermittent.

The next hurdle is initial leash training. I don’t think she’s ever been leashed. Because she hasn’t had all her shots and due to the high risk of Parvo in our area, she wasn’t allowed to touch the shelter floors and couldn’t go out to the exercise yard; employees carried her everywhere. She’ll be restricted to our house and back yard until mid-December, when she’ll be fully vaccinated. That makes the next few weeks a perfect opportunity to introduce her to the leash. Given her size, I’m thinking a harness is better than a collar. If you have any suggestions for brand or style of harness, please share!

Meanwhile, I’m readjusting to working with a dog curled up beneath my chair as I write. It feels wonderful!