Cocker Spaniel Adoption Center Blog

Toebe's Happy Ending

The adjustment period for us hasn't been that difficult. We've had to make a few small changes to the house (e.g. securing bathroom garbage cans), but nothing that can't be done. The people in our home have taken Toebe in and he's just part of the family now. The only one with a couple issues has been our older dog, Dixie. She had been the only dog for 9 years, so learning to share her space and her people with someone new has been a little bit of a challenge. 95% of the time, the two get along just fine, but there are kerfuffles between them about every two weeks and they seem to center around me...who has possession of me. There is barking and growling, but never any biting. Also seems to be a dominance thing too. When it happens, they are immediately separated until things cool down (just a couple minutes), then they're fine again.

As far as Toebe's health, he's come a long way since we brought him home. He's been to the vet here twice to check his thyroid levels, and getting that stable has been the key. His patchy hair is now growing in thick and full, and his scaly skin is almost normal. In fact, he's about due for his first haircut...never thought he'd look shaggy, but he does. He's a champ about taking medicine and having his ears cleaned. The next thing I'll be introducing to him is his very own toothbrush!! Oh, and they get a 30 minute walk every morning through our neighborhood.

The one thing we had to figure out was how to take care of Toebe while our family went on vacation. We already had a 10-day trip planned when we adopted him, and I initially made reservations with our vet to kennel him while we were gone. But, as he got stronger and more attached to our family it became clear that the kennel wasn't going to be the right option for him. We ended up letting him stay at the house with Dixie and our dog sitter. It seemed to work great for Toebe...his schedule stayed the same, the environment stayed the same; the thing we were most concerned about was that, since Toebe had spent so much time in kennels before we got him, he would think we were dumping him off again if he stayed with the vet...that's the last thing we want him to believe.

So, overall, the adoption is a huge success for us. Toebe is an adorable, love bug who will be with us for the rest of his life. I'm really glad we were able to find him and add him to our family.

Kathy