The Arrival of Marty (the Dog)

None of us are sure how this happened but in the midst of the craziness of June- we got a dog. While it wasn't something we really planned on, we had told Amy that we would look into it after the reunion this summer. Since the reunion was cancelled (COVID) she talked us into moving up that timeline. We agreed to "See what's out there." Ha! Those are dangerous words. Amy started looking around and pretty quickly narrowed it down to 3 dogs. We agreed to meet them and see what happened. One was adopted right away and we never got the chance. One we never heard back from and then there was Marty.

Two Vanderbilt girls who were fostering him drove him to us on June 13 and that was the end of that. We loved him from the start. The description said lab mix and that he was year old but we have since thought differently on both.

Is Amy in her glory? In a short word YES. She has been really great and he is the only thing that can get her out of bed before 11. He has won the hearts of all of us though. He particularly loves Lee and wants to curl up on him in the evening.

 

He destroyed that toy! We have since realized that his toys have to be hard plastic. Anything fluffy or soft will be destroyed. But he's really good at only chewing his toys. He doesn't chew on anything else.

We tried to give him a bath. It took forever to lure him into the tub. He finally decided the treat was too good and he couldn't pass it up.

 

Once in, he stood really still (probably terrified) and let us wash him.

Hiding under the bed in Florida. He did this a lot, it was funny. Once in awhile he will go under our bed, but it's a lot narrower. He can't get under the other beds in our house.

He travels wonderfully. We took him to Florida.

It's a hundred degrees out, so Amy wrapped him in a blanket.

Marty is really good. The poor thing. We got him when mom and dad were here in the middle of a project. So the house was chaotic. The next week we went to Florida and took him along. The foster people wouldn't hold him that long so if we wanted him, we had to take him. Mom originally said she would watch him but everyone was a little apprehensive about that, especially wit ha dog so new to us. On the way to GA, Uncle Bobby called and said, "Bring him!" So we did. He did pretty well. He gets a little crazy at night so that was stressful from time to time but all in all, I think he did well. Dogs aren't allowed in the beach so we were worried about leaving him, but he did great. That was nice! This past week is the first full week that we've been home and he seems to be settling into the routine a bit. 

When we got his paperwork all we know is he came into a Nashville shelter around the middle of May. There they neutered him, gave him all his shots and microchipped him. The foster girls had him for about a week and a half and he was going to go to another family but he didn't get along with their cat. So while we don't know where he was the first year of his life, we know he was passed around a bit for a few weeks. So it's been nice to get into a small routine here. We will go to Georgia again this weekend for Tyler's baptism. But after that we should be staying put. 

We have figured out that he's a German Pinscher mix. He's most the pinscher but he does have traits of a lab. So maybe the both? We've also decided he's younger than a year. We haven't taken him to a vet yet but we'll ask when we do. We've had several people who "know" dogs say that he's too much of a puppy to be a year. I really wanted a dog that was potty trained and he does really well. We haven't had a single accident. I just couldn't bear to potty train something else. 

He's very smart. He already knew how to sit but Amy has taught him lay down and shake and he got them in a day or two. We've also been working on leash walking, stay and other things. Apparently this breed is highly intellectual and they can do anything. One day we want to teach him how to catch frisbees. 

It is like having another child though. Amy does a great job but I think she's too 'fun' so of course a lot of stuff falls on me. But when I get tired of him, she will step in. I like training him, but I am also a mom, wife, daughter, master gardener and young women's president, so I have a few other things on my agenda. 

All in all we are glad we got him. He's a really sweet dog. Of course he has his challenges, but so does every child. It feels like we've always had him and the whole process went so smoothly that it must have been meant to be. He really is the perfect dog for us.