Meet Phoenix, My New Dog

On June 24th Robert and I adopted a dog from the Durham Animal Protection Society. We had been thinking and talking about it for some time. I’m always concerned about taking on a 10-12 year responsibility when I can’t see 10-12 years down the road. But I finally decided that if I always held decisions to that standard I would never be able to do anything. We both work from home and will be doing so for the foreseeable future. We get a bit lonely and we need more exercise. And Robert and I both like dogs. So it was the right decision at this time and that’s the best I can do.

I happen to know about the temperament of a lot of breeds, so I might be a little hasty in judging a dog by their breed. That and their common health problems. Due to the latter, I decided a mutt would be a great choice…they tend to be more healthy. However I still am concerned about some temperaments even in a mutt. So we walked through the kennels writing off every breed that concerns me due to likely high energy or aggression. I also am very careful about reading their energy. It’s hard with puppies, but adult dogs will give you a good idea of what they might be like with their body language and looks. I both have never had a dog of my own and have also had enough indirect experience with behavioral problems that it just wasn’t the right time to take on something like that.

There was a sweet little beagle/hound mix who I knew would be a bit hyper and a runner but I was willing to look at. She was gentle and small and no others intrigued me thus far. She couldn’t be viewed because she hadn’t had all her shots. There was also a sweet purebred Dachshund, but Robert isn’t interested in small dogs.

Eventually I decided to walk down the back side of the kennels after not really seeing a personality that interested me. As we walked down the back side we saw a smallish, somewhat shy and quiet reddish dog who I knew right away was both a female and had good energy. We went to look at her card which declared her a husky mix, 6 months and name “Unknown”. We decided to have a visit and walk with her. She was very gentle yet friendly. As we went out for our little walk, I watched her body language like a hawk. She didn’t react to other dogs barking her, which shows confidence. She didn’t pull on the walk but was curious. I didn’t know about the 6 months business because she looked almost fully grown to me and that would indicate that she was older than 6 months.

After this visit, we decided to sleep on it. The next day (Saturday), Robert and I went back for another visit. I found myself afraid that someone else had adopted her. There was a part of me that knew she needed to come home with us. The second visit showed her personality to be consistent. She seemed happy to see us and we even a bit playful when we took her outside. Robert said he liked her, but he wasn’t sure she was particularly smart, playful or affectionate. You can’t tell a lot from a pound visit, but my stomach told me that he was wrong and she would be all of those things. She was a stray, which is why her name was unknown, but I also had the feeling we wouldn’t have to worry about potty training her. When I get feelings about things, they are often right.

The night before this Saturday Robert and I talked about names, and after a couple hours the name Phoenix came up and we both immediately liked it. On our second visit to the pound Robert apparently asked her if her name was Phoenix when I was out of the room, and she made some gesture to indicate that it was. He told me this when I came back in and I figured I would give it a shot. She had her little paws on my knees and I asked her “Is your name Phoenix?” and she looked at me and pawed my arm in what seemed to be approval. She was definitely coming home. We put down our deposit and left knowing it would be 3-5 days before we could get her. This is good because it gave us time to prepare.

Phoenix came home on Wednesday the 24rd. We immediately took her to the vet, and also for a long walk later that afternoon. She seemed at home immediately. Over the next week she proved to be house trained, playful, very affectionate, obedient and extremely smart. She just gets things. She knows what she can chew and what she can’t, she knows what furniture she can be on and what she can’t. We set the rules right away and stuck to them, but she doesn’t push if she knows we don’t want something.

Additionally she is great with other people, polite and gentle with children and has a great time playing with other dogs. She does have a bit of a hard time with introductions to other dogs though. It’s intimidating (or something) for her to meet nose to nose and she will bark/growl a bit in that context. But, if she goes for a little walk with them, then she tends to love them. Not that she’s met tons of dogs, but that’s how it’s gone so far. Also, she doesn’t bark at other dogs in the distance…she really doesn’t react until they get really close. I think we just need to do some training to help her with introductions. But I’m not too worried as she is small and I don’t really want her meeting dogs I don’t know because I don’t trust other dogs without talking to the owner, unless it’s really obvious that they are docile.

As Robert says, we won the pound dog lottery. Phoenix couldn’t be more perfect if she tried. I liked her from the beginning, but was wary because I wasn’t sure what potential problems we might have. I only had my gut feeling in agreement with me…my brain on the other hand was worried. Despite that, within about 1-2 weeks I was in love. I am happier when she is around, she lightens the room when she is in it…and it’s been years since I got exercise every single day.

Oh, and one last thing. We have no idea what breed she is. It’s likely she has some husky in her. I suspect that she is at least a 3 way breed. There just isn’t a great guess. I’ve heard everything from whippet to basenji and I just don’t know. Neither her looks or temprament makes it obvious what she is. But I don’t care. She could be mixed with cat for all I care. It is kinda neat that she looks like a fox though, and she’s just about fully grown at 25lbs. Not too big and not too small. : )