Adoption day

Adoption day! Adoption day! A-dop-tion day-aaaaay! Yep. I was excited.

On January 12, 2022, the rescue group loaded up six puppies, including Dixie, for a road trip from Orange Grove, Texas, to Lebanon, Pennsylvania. The transport had a few delays and arrived at the foster’s home at 2 am. Getting from Texas to my home was quite the trek for Dixie. Several hours later, we met her and took her on the last leg of her journey (to her new home). That little gal was on the road for 1881 miles (28 hours) and did not seem shaken by it. 

On January 12, 2022, we got word that Dixie was en route to her foster in Pennsylvania. Whew! That was a good sign. Dixie was still available to adopt, and after speaking to the foster, I felt confident that I would be able to take her home. If she had been an older dog, I would have had to meet her, wait for others to meet her, and then return to pick her up if the foster felt I was the best fit. Since Dixie was a puppy and the foster was going to be overloaded with dogs, I was allowed to do a direct adoption (no waiting period). It most definitely added to the excitement. Absent some unknown glitch, I would not return home empty-handed.

‘Dixie was slated to arrive in Pennsylvania on Friday, January 14, so my husband and I scheduled a meet-and-greet for early Saturday, January 15. The weather was not optimal for bringing home an unpotty-trained puppy; it was snowy, cold, and icy. However, short of a significant storm, we were going to get there and adopt ‘my’ puppy! With puppies being adopted quickly, we wanted to ensure we were the first to meet her.

We got up early, loaded the car with puppy supplies, and were on the road around 630 am. During the three-hour trip to Pennsylvania, I started vacillating between excitement and second-guessing my choice. What if we did not have a connection with Dixie? What if they would not let us adopt her? What if…what if…by the time we arrived, I was a nervous wreck. Worse, we arrived 30 minutes early and had to wait down the road in a freezing cold local park. It provided more time to agonize and felt like we waited hours when it was only half an hour.  

The foster lived on a huge farm and had an area just for the puppies. Since the puppies arrived at 2 am, the foster had to do a mad dash to get everything set. We walked into the puppy room and instantly saw our stinky Dixie dog roaming around like she owned the place. She oozed confidence for sure, and after watching her interact with the other puppies, I knew I had made the correct choice. I wanted a dog that had confidence, and Dixie did not disappoint. It did not take long to notice that Dixie had a little bossy attitude; she ruled the room. Overall, she had a good disposition with the other puppies, but it was readily apparent that she wanted what she wanted and was going to get it simply because she wanted it.

Dixie pushed other puppies out of the way to get to the water. When she was finished acting like the queen of the water bowl, she searched for something better. One of the other puppies was trying to get its mouth around a large, old marrow bone when Dixie appeared out of nowhere, lifted her massive paw, gave the other puppy a whack, and took the bone as if it had her name engraved on it. Moreso, she abandoned the bone almost immediately; it boiled down to her wanting to have it. It did not register that Dixie might opt to bring that same attitude home and try to rule our roost, though it would not have mattered; we decided to adopt Dixie on the spot.

Before we could take Dixie home, we had some business to take care of – paperwork, gathering medical records, receiving her microchip, and most importantly, bathing her. That little puppy reeked. Dixie was wearing eau de toilette (dog piss and dog poop). She flat-out stunk, and the foster opted to give her a bath before sending her home with us. The foster took her to the bathing area, hosed her down, shampooed her, and hosed her again. Dixie just stood there and let it all happen without a fuss. One gold star for Dixie.

Whoop whoop! Once Dixie was cleaned up, and the paperwork signed, Dixie was ours.

I had stocked the car with puppy pee pads, some towels, a seat cover, and a blanket. It was good since Dixie was still damp when we carried her out in the freezing cold. Dixie did not hesitate to get in the back seat and exhibited no signs of stress. As with the puppy room, Dixie acted as if she owned the whole back seat. Frankly, she looked like a spoiled, entitled adult dog.

One of the joys of a puppy is how much they sleep—no hopping around the back of the vehicle. Dixie slept most of the way home other than a pit stop for a potty break. That is when Dixie got her first exposure to walking in the snow; it was more like ice, but still. Dixie did OK and then got back in the car and slept the rest of the way home.

A crucial part of the whole endeavor was to pick a name. The shelter had named her Jolly. It was cute since she was found around Christmas, but I was not fond of it long-term. On the other hand, I had no clue what to name her instead. I hoped something would jump into my mind when I saw her, but I drew a blank.

So how did Dixie get her name? I called out words on billboards, stores, and car bumper stickers until I ran across one that suited her personality. As soon as I called out ‘dixie’ I knew it was a perfect fit. Goodbye, Jolly; hello, Dixie.

Once she had a name, I wanted to set up a vet appointment for a wellness check. The first available was a little over two weeks out. I wanted her there sooner, but there was no harm in waiting.

When we arrived home with our clean, tired, and overwhelmed puppy named Dixie, we went into decompression mode—a fancy way of saying we hung out at home, chilled, and got to know each other.

It was a wonderful day.