Our New House Elf

 

We have a new family member!

And her name is Dobbie!

Can you see why I named her Dobbie?

Her oddly colored eyes and the way she looks up at me, beseechingly, reminds me of Harry Potter’s House Elf, Dobbie.

I’ve been searching for a small lap dog for myself for several months, at the local shelters, Craigslist, and local rescues, with no luck. None of the dogs I saw or met connected with me, or I with them. I may have also had my standards held pretty high, too. I was hoping to find another medium or long haired dog with foxy ears, like my last dog. I’ve not owned a little dog since my female pomeranian / papillon, Charity died over 10 years ago. I had adopted Charity through the SPCA when we lived in Maryland. She was 3 yrs old and we had her for 11 years. It devastated me when she became so ill that I had to let her go. And it took me until this past year to finally open up my heart (and my lonely lap) to another little dog.

 

I spend quite a bit of my time in the little town of Edgewood not far from where we live, but didn’t know they had an actual shelter operated by the Animal Control, until Edgewood distributed little flyers during the parade the week before. I decided to stop by last Friday. The ACO welcomed me to their small kennel where 4 dogs were waiting to be adopted. There was just one female dog, but she was short-haired. She looked up at me and tried to steal my heart.

Can you believe that the Animal Control Officers named her Delores? lol! You can see her ad on PetFinder HERE. 

Well, I sat down on the curb in front of the kennels as I chatted with the ACO, about a recent semi-truck accident that happened that morning on I-40 and backed up the Interstate for at least 5 miles. Apparently, a van pulled out in front a semi truck during a hard rain storm and didn’t give the truck driver enough time to stop or slow down. The truck jack-knifed, the trailer flipped over and split open, spilling cardboard barrels filled with dehydrated onions…..which quickly became rehydrated in the rain storm. The truck driver and her husband, who was asleep in the back, were ok, as were their two cats. The ACO was first to respond, helping them with their terrified cats.

And as I sat there talking with the ACO, this little dog crawled into my lap and didn’t move. She even fell asleep. My heart felt a few pangs of affection for her, but I just wasn’t sure she was what I wanted. She was short-haired and looked kind of funny with her strange eyes and wonky ears.

The ACO told me that an older couple were considering adopting her, but had to make sure she’d get along with their senior male Dachshund first. They were planning on coming back that evening or the next morning with their dog to see if it would be a good match, but the ACO said that they didn’t leave a deposit on her, so she was technically available to adopt at that moment.

But I decided I wasn’t ready to make that commitment yet and told the ACO I would go home, discuss it with my hubby and give it some more thought first. I also told myself that if I called tomorrow afternoon and she hadn’t been adopted by that older couple or someone else, then I would take it as a sign that she was meant to be mine.

When I called the next afternoon around 3:30pm and I couldn’t reach the ACO, I just assumed that it wasn’t meant to be. But a little while later he called me back and said that the Dachshund mix female was still waiting for a home. Was I still interested?

I was at the kennel in 15 minutes, and was tickled to find this little dog furiously wagging her tail, while standing at the gate, seeming to remember me from the day before. I sat down and she jumped right into my lap. That was all I needed to complete the adoption transaction. She was all mine.

Crazy eyes, wonky ears, stubby legs, and weenie body.

Some folks might call her a ChiWeenie, as she appears to possibly be a mix of Chihuahua and Dachshund.

We call her Dobbie, our little House Elf.

Dobbie has already made herself at home, listens very well and comes when called. She walks great on a leash, but also stays close without one. Dobbie gets so excited when we hike up to the barn to feed the llamas, goats and sheep. It’s amazing how fast she can run on those little stubby legs as she runs in circles with excitement. She is already bringing laughter and joy to my family. And best of all, whenever I sit down, Dobbie is right there with me.

Finally, my lap isn’t lonely anymore.

From the Tower of,