Once Upon a Time...
If you have been following me for any amount of time, you have probably seen pictures of my dog Jovi. I wanted to take this opportunity to tell her story. It isn't very long or complicated, but I think it is a good one. Plus you get to see more cute pictures of her, so that is a plus!
About a year after my wife and I got married, we decided that we wanted to start looking for a dog. My wife and I are both big fans of rescue animals and adoptions so we started browsing the web pages of the local shelters. There are actually some great websites that kind of compile all of the animals in your area and let you look at them. I know that probably sounds kind of cold, but it really is a great tool to get an idea of what is out there.
We found a little puppy from an animal control center a couple of counties away from where we lived. It looked very promising so I decided I was going to leave work early and run up there to surprise my wife. I left work and went to the bank to get the cash I needed for the puppy and then I was on my way.
There were three puppies, two girls and a boy. According to the description they have been found in a milk crate on the side of the road in a culvert. My wife and I knew that we wanted a female dog so I had it all planned out which one we would get. Fate had different plans however, and when I got to the building I found out the one we had picked out was already gone. I walked to the back area and looked at the two remaining puppies. My heart broke because I only had enough money to get one of them. With mixed emotions I selected the girl and we started the process of adoption.
I placed her in a mail crate in my front passenger seat with a blanket and my coat in it so she could familiarize herself with the smells. She was a trooper the whole way home and I think she only peed on my coat once.
She was a biter right from the get-go, not hard, but the typical chewing on everything that puppies do. She loved plastic hangers and she even go ahold of my wifes cell phone one time.
My wife was working a second job at the time so we could save up some money to buy a travel trailer, so I was kind of a single dad raising her in the evenings. As you can see she used to love to crawl under the couch and play around with the fabric under there.
The above photo was taken right after we had her fixed. That is why her belly was shaved. She had to spend a night away from us, but everything went well and she was home soon after.
When we first got her, we used to keep her in a crate during the day while we were at work. This was her own little area that she could be comfortable in. She still wasn't fully potty trained yet either, so we wanted to keep her isolated during the day so she didn't go in the house.
One day we came home from work and she wasn't in her crate! I looked all over and finally found her laying on the bed in our room. I was so shocked that she had escaped the crate that it took a while for me to realize the more exciting news... She had escaped the crate and didn't go potty in the house. After that day she pretty much had full reign of the house while we were at work. We never had a potty issue.
Today
Now she is just about nine years old and still just as crazy as she was when she was a puppy. She has so much energy and loves spending time with us. We go for walks in the summer and she runs around in the winter an rolls around in the snow.
She goes camping with us and keeps us safe from all of the passers-by in the campground. Most of the time whether home or camping she just loves to nap.
She also loves her toys. She has a big basket of them and it is funny to watch her dig through the whole thing with her nose just to pick out that one special toy she wants to play with.
Thanks for following along as I shared the story of Jovi. In case you wondered, my wife is a huge Bon Jovi fan, hence the name. We knew from the get go it was either going to be that or Tico (Bon Jovi drummer). I will be posting frequently in the summer pictures from our camping trips and other travels and most definitely plenty of Jovi photos!
