Leela’s Four Week Update
As of today, Leela has lived with us for four weeks. She has come a long way from the raggedy little dog that stole my heart at a souvenir shop in El Paso.
Leela has gained about four pounds and her coat is glossy and almost totally dandruff-free.
We actually had to teach her how to play with toys. Initially, she would ignore toys or get confused when presented with them. This probably means she didn’t interact with or have toys in the past. Now, Leela can fetch and catch a ball with her mouth in the air. She’s pretty rough on her toys – everything gets chewed to shreds. ST bought her a crocheted pig that she tore the stuffing out of. We don’t mind because she doesn’t chew anything else – only her stuff.
She’s terrified of the train and other loud sounds. When we’re out for a walk and she hears the train passing by, she shakes violently and stays close or tries to run away. The same goes for when we’re disciplining her – she immediately starts shaking and buries her head in your lap if you’re sitting or gives you kisses if you’re standing.
Her favorite activities are running, walking, playing with her toys, sleeping, and cuddling. She loves playing with other dogs in the park. We let her off the leash as much as we can and she always comes back when we call. That makes us beam with pride. 
I never thought I could be so into a dog but she wiggled her little self into my heart.
Happy Birthday, Baby
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For some reason I woke up this morning thinking about our wedding vows. I remember talking about how someone had encouraged me to pray for my future husband when I was younger, way before I even knew you existed. So I woke up this morning musing about how I never imagined I’d get to spend the rest of my life with someone as amazing as you.
The other night when we were at 61 Local, I got into a conversation about marriage and husbands. Of course, someone commented on how awesome you are and asked about how we got together as a Christian and a non-Christian. Apparently, there are a lot of ladies out there waiting for the perfect Christian man to sweep them off their feet.
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I can definitely relate to that desire. Growing up, this was an important value that was instilled in me. But when I met you, my perspective completely changed. Instead of verbalizing your beliefs, you show me everyday that you are a man of God. You are loving, faithful, generous, humble, loyal, considerate, kind, nurturing, caring, and patient. You do the right thing even when no one is watching.
Everyday that I’m your wife is a blessing and I’m so thankful you’re my future baby daddy. I love you so much.
Happy birthday, baby. I hope you had a real good time.
And Then There Were Three
Meet Leela. She’s a two-year-old terrier mix rescue that we adopted from the Humane Society of El Paso yesterday (we’re in Texas until tomorrow).
We think Leela will be the perfect apartment dog. She’s sweet, gentle, and friendly. She doesn’t bark or require lots of exercise (a game of catch lasts for all of five minutes). Even though we don’t know any of her history since she was a rescue, it seems like she is house trained and loves playing with other dogs (my sister-in-law has a Maltese that is the same age).
Leela was very mangy-looking when we adopted her. She weighed 19.2 lbs and had dandruff, which was gross. Since yesterday, she’s been groomed, brushed, clipped, bathed (twice), and examined by Dr. Terry at Northeast Veterinary Clinic (we highly recommend Dr. Terry and NEVC). Today, her coat is glossy, dandruff-free, and she is well on her way to packing on some more pounds. However, her tail is a mess and no amount of shampooing has helped. Oh well.
Although I feel like her adoption was very spontaneous, ST and I have wanted to adopt a dog for a while now. ST grew up with a dog in the house and I simply wanted to get on the offensive with our ongoing mice situation (the previous tenants in our apartment had a large dog and supposedly never saw mice). I downloaded the Petfinder app a few months ago and have been on the lookout ever since. Unfortunately, all I found were pitbulls, rottweilers, and other dogs that cost $300 to adopt. I don’t have anything against those breeds but ST was concerned about their potential aggression towards FB. Since I wasn’t having any luck searching in NYC, ST suggested that we wait until we were in Texas to search for our new canine companion.
We found Leela at an adoption event at the El Paso Saddle Blanket store (Side note: Pretty cool souvenir store). HSEP had about fifteen dogs set up in large, comfortable crates and allowed prospective families to pet the dogs and take them out for a walk. What attracted us to Leela was her sad eyes and quiet demeanor. Within the hour, we’d fallen in love, completed the paperwork, paid the $60 adoption fee, and ST had called the airlines to arrange her transportation back to NYC.
HSEP is an awesome organization. Their volunteers were kind and obviously cared for the animals. Their adoption fee of $60 included Leela, her rabies vaccination, spaying, a bag of treats, a year’s supply of dog food (a giant bag every month!), a Saddle Blanket duffel bag, her microchip, and all sorts of “New Parent” literature and a DVD. I love getting the most bang for my buck.
If you live in the El Paso area and would like to adopt a dog, HSEP has dog adoption events every Saturday at the Saddle Blanket and PetSmart (they had puppies).