A bit more explanation - Sara met up with me in LA last Thursday, so we boarded Bea in her vet/day care for the weekend. Everything about LA made us want to have Bea there. Tons of parks, amazing weather, and Sara's cousin has a wonderful house with an enclosed back yard. Bea would have loved to sit outside all day and enjoy the sun. Well, we think she would - it's hard to tell, since she has all the emotion range of a shoebox.
We got back around 2AM Monday/Tuesday. Amazingly, with a checked bag and in the back of the plane, we got from touch down to our door in under a half hour. The bag was waiting for us, there was no line at the cab stand, and our cab driver drove like he was a dog chasing a ball. Not our dog, since she doesn't move much - but a dog that likes actually playing with things. Yes, he took our life in his hands - but we appreciated the extra 15 minutes of sleep we were able to get.
I had a few meetings on Tuesday, so I couldn't pick Bea up until the afternoon. When I did, she didn't go nuts at first, but once she smelled me (and realized I was her daddy), she started doing her patented butt wiggle. If you ever see it and it doesn't melt your heart, you don't have a heart to melt.
The staff at the daycare are falling in love with Bea, too - they were all gushy when I picked her up. It's hard not to - Bea doesn't cause much trouble and looks as sweet as a dog can look. Except for the separation anxiety, we really picked a winner.
Well, it may not be separation anxiety - it may be isolation anxiety. She seems fine when we leave and she gets attention from other people, which makes me wonder if we should just get another dog. Of course, that'd mean twice the work and twice the cost, so that will just be a wonder for now.
When I dropped her off Wednesday afternoon before I left, I really felt awful. Partly because we went to the daycare where they don't take pictures. And partly because I barely got to spend any time with her. I can't imagine how a parent must feel dropping their kid off at school every day. Unless their kid is an asshole, then it'd be pretty easy to feel relieved.
Wednesday night, Sara took her over to Jacob and Jenna's for a playdate with their dog Leah. Leah really brings out the dog in Bea. From what I'm told, Bea ran around like a dog possessed (which may be the only way for her to run). She also tried to hump Leah twice. It's clearly her attempt to show dominance, but funny when you couple that with her proclivity to mark outside, and her name being Bea Arthur. A female dog named Bea Arthur showing a few male tendencies is a special kind of funny.
We are hoping that as Bea adjusts to life outside the shelter, she'll become more and more doglike, and accepting of her new life. I'd bet it'd be easier if we didn't live in NYC (which can be like a cage sometimes). But each week that goes by, Bea is further and further from her life in the shelter, and hopefully conditioned to know she's not going back.
The other thing that happened while I've been here is Bea's new crate came in. We felt her old crate was too small - and even though she seems to enjoy the coziness of the old one, we wanted her to be able to sleep in a crate without smushing her face against the side like she was flying coach. The new crate is ENOURMOUS. The width and length are fine, because Bea is part dachshund. But the height is twice what she needs. Lets face it - the world was not built for long dogs with stubby legs. I would love to find a crate that is as stubby as my dog - her version of irregular sized pants. Odd, since Bea Arthur was also extra long.
Excuse me, do you have anything in my size?
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