Good Boy Gremlin: Catch-Up Part II -- Ghost

Watch out, this post will be reeeally long. Because there's a ton of stuff to say! So after we hung out with Diesel and Madi for a week, Mom really started thinking about another pooch. She'd already mentioned it a few times, but never seriously, because she wasn't figuring into getting another dog for a year or two or more. But she saw how me and Diesel loved to play and decided that it might not be such a bad time to get me a sibling!

So about a week or two later she was talking to a friend named Ivy, and Ivy said she had gotten a puppy. And then she made the HUUUGE mistake of telling Mom... that there were some left. Her sister's dog had a litter of puppies (I think she said nine but a couple died... poor babies...) that were all looking for homes. Nymeria, the pup, sounded like an awesome dog.

Obviously my first thought was, no way, I'd have to juggle work, school, Grem, and trying to figure out my next step in life, and a puppy? Hell no.

And then I put some more thought into it.

Before you could say "woof," I was calculating finances, figuring out vet bills, planning schedules, and Googling puppy toys. I browsed all the puppy stickies on DogForum.com --"just as a reminder for later!"-- and brushed up on training.

Less than a week later, I mentioned it to Shelley, who seemed fine with the idea. I was set to meet the litter and pick a pup within a week, but things fell through. After several texts exchanged with Ivy's sister, Stormy, I learned that a few other people were interested in pups, and that she would save one for me. At this point, I'm not going to lie: I panicked.

I've never had someone pick an animal out for me. All my pets have been ones that I, personally, chose. Grem was the first to crawl in my lap and nibble my chin. My snake had the coloring and temperament I wanted. My childhood cat was one I lured out from under a neighbor's bed and bonded with, and my second cat was from a litter down the street -- and was my pick. I've never had a pet I didn't choose, and I freaked out and thought about calling it off.

But, lo and behold, my very famous guilt and strong desire to avoid conflict reared its head, and I stayed silent. I can't say it was a bad choice, but I've caught myself thinking, "I wish I had said something" more times than I care to count.

I set up a day to hang out with Ivy and another friend, and that day, met up with Stormy and met my pup for the first time.

I had already brainstormed names, and the two that stuck were Griffin and Ghost. I liked the "G" sound, and it fit well to have some sort of G-creature name to go along with Gremlin.

He was this tiny little thing, less than ten pounds, and absolutely petrified from the car ride. His claws were like talons since nobody had cut them, and my shoulder was covered in drool in seconds because of his post-car anxiety. He was a breeze to carry and we marched home, stopping a few times on the way for some especially kind people to say hello. One thing I realized with him? Puppies attract people.

I let him down to potty and meet the other dogs, and take pictures, and then scooped him back up and put him down for a nap. Two hours later, he was ready to do a little more investigating... but not much. The yard was too far for him, so he stayed on the porch with me while the big dogs played in the yard.