We finally took the plunge and adopted another dog. Last weekend, we chose Chili from the many wonderful dogs at the CNY SPCA, and after her vet check on Monday and spaying on Tuesday, we brought her home. It’s been an interesting first week with our new companion!
Chili was picked up as a stray and stayed at the pound for two months before coming home with us, so it’s taking her a little while to get used to her new surroundings. That said, she seems to be adjusting very well. Like Smokey, Chili is a chow mix, but now that we are getting to know her, she’s pretty clearly a chow-husky mix. The husky part means she’s a very high energy dog with a short attention span who likes to run quite a lot. The chow-chow part means she’s very possessive and protective of her people, and she gets quite jealous if we try to give Smokey an equal share of attention. Both huskies and chows are known for being good guard dogs and very loyal, obedient companions. At the SPCA, they guessed her age at 3 to 4 years, but we are guessing more like 2. She definitely lived with people who took good care of her at some point, because she knows “sit” and “no” and “be a good girl” - if you can get her attention, of course.
Chili has a pretty red coat and markings that look a bit like a fox, and is smaller than Smokey. Don’t let her smaller size fool you, however, as she has already facilitated an ankle sprain this morning by pulling me cross-country through wet brush at a gallop. At least it’s a relatively mild sprain… She’s been very good for my step count over the last few days as well. It’s hard to walk both dogs at the same time with one person (unless you just let Smokey meander along by himself at his own pace, which is pretty safe) so I’m helping a lot more in the dog-walking department and might exceed my October step goal after all. We’ve gotten her down from 5 walks on Wednesday to 4 on Thursday to 3 today, but Chili requires a pretty long walk, so it’s not like she isn’t getting her exercise. She’s making certain that we are, too.