and then we were 6

about a week ago i chatted paul to see if he'd ever in a million years consider a westie-poo puppy i saw advertised through a friend of a friend on facebook. he said YES! but no sooner did he say yes than i realized the posting was 2 weeks old and the puppy was gone. so i called the humane society...i figured while the answer was yes, i'd just consider all the options. i told them "my husband and i always like westies...do you ever have dogs in that aren't on the website?" and she said "i've worked here for 4 years and i've seen MAYBE 2 westies come through." long pause and then in a hushed voice she said "but we just happen to have one under anesthesia right now. he came in as a stray from santa fe yesterday and he got nuetered today." after talking she said i could wait for his picture to come up on the website or i could put a $15 deposit on him and they could hold him for us to come see him.
i went down to see him and i didn't instantly fall in love. i just couldn't picture my house with another dog, a dog i knew nothing about, in it. but he was cute. he reminded me of my sister's dog who just passed away this last year and he was an amazing dog. because of his surgery we couldn't see him beyond just looking into his cage at the humane society. the next morning i took asher and tatum back down there. they brought him out and he played really well with asher. REALLY well. the thing you have to know about asher is that he is NOT good with pets, especially pets that have hair long enough to grab into a fisthold. it makes me so mad. i HATE when he's mean to the dogs. but we've been shouting "GENTLE HANDS! GENTLE HANDS!" when we can see it coming. and he did gentle hands with this new dog! with out being prompted. then they brought tatum out and she stood still and cold as a cucumber. she tightened every muscle in her body as if to say "how dArE you???" then we let them off leashes and she nipped him a couple good times, he gave her a play bow and let her take the alpha role and then they played like they've been missing each other for years. i've been wanting to get a dog for tatum for a couple years now. she's gotten more and more timid as she gets older and everyone i described her behavior to said "she needs a dog!" that night paul came to meet him and agreed that he was game if i was game. and so we named him gilligan and brought him home. here's a picture i took that night.

and here's what he looks like a week later after a good scrubbing and WAY more comfortable.

he has been so funny to have around. they guessed his age as 1 year and i think they are pretty close. he still chews alot so i know there's alooooot of puppy left in him. but he sleeps all day too (hopefully that doesn't mean he's growing!). i got him a BIG bag of bones last night and he's already eaten 2 of them. he's such a great playmate for tatum. he's shedding which i am NOT a fan of but i need to bathe him really good and it's spring. he's a wire haired dog so that should stop. he comes to his name and obeys some commands...not all. he can NOT figure out sit but i'm hoping tatum will show him the ropes with that one. karyssa has claimed him as her dog and after the first night when the shedding began paul said "well, it's up to you...i mean...i think he's cute but ...." so i guess it's a done deal. paul is hooked. he comes home and gets right down on gilligan's level and coos and greets him. gilligan has a little doll that he keeps pulling out of the toybox. he does it so gingerly and never chews on it...just snuggles it. he pulls the pillows down on the floor because he's learned he is not allowed on the futon even though tatum is. if i leave a blanket on there he'll pull that down too. and when he gets scolded he smiles. no lie. i wish i could get a picture of it. he pulls his lips back so that all that shows is just the very tips of every single tooth. it is adorable and makes me giggle even when i'm scolding him. if i forget to feed him breakfast he will help himself to ours if i don't clear the table right away. he's getting cuter and cuter every day and i am slowly falling more in love with him. he's gonna be a good dog...i just have to get over the part where there's actually two dogs in my house!