When Gilbert and I moved into our apartment in February 2010, we had full intentions of bringing along Gilbert's dog Benjamin to move in with us. Gilbert adopted him when he was just a teeny tiny puppy. Here are some photos of this guy when he was little.
As we were getting organized in the apartment, we noticed the Benjamin had some problems with the idea of relocating. He started to whine consistently, bark when we left, and scratch at the door once we were outside of the unit. We paid the pet deposit, installed a doggy door, and we committed to having a dog of our own in this new home we were starting. The first time G left Benjamin in the apartment by himself, he had such intense separation anxiety that he tried his hardest to escape right through the front door and ended up scratching pretty far into the wall around the door jam. The poor guy was so upset. There was no way we could leave him alone during the day while we were both at work.
After some serious consideration about what was best for him and what was a reasonable amount of training that G and I could complete with our work schedules, we decided that moving him back to the home he was used to was the best choice. Although we paid the pet deposit, and kept the doggy door, we had no dog. Once G started to talk about maybe moving the doggy door over to where Benjamin is, we had a conversation about looking for another puppy.
I found Franklin on the PetFinder iPhone app that was suggested to me by my friend Sam. I searched for a baby or young male dog that would stay small when full grown so that he could live comfortably in our 1-bedroom apartment. I also selected the options to only show dogs that were housetrained, up to date on vaccinations, and microchipped. This would guarantee that there would be no additional costs associated with an adoption fee. It took me less than 2 days to filter through all of the search results and find Franklin. He is a dachshund terrier mix that was adopted at 4 months old but was returned to the shelter for some undisclosed reason. I scheduled a date with the shelter to meet him, and it was love at first sight. We adopted him when he was about 9 months old.
After showing him how the doggy door worked, he had no problems taking himself out to go to the bathroom whenever he has the urge. He doesn't have any serious behavioral issues other than those that are totally typical of a puppy. So far he's only had a few chewing issues while we're gone during the day, but he hasn't completely ruined anything too serious. He has a few best friends at the local dog park, and is awesome on a leash.
We are happy new dog owners to say the least. Since we adopted him, we have discovered that he must be at least part Petit Basset Griffon Vendeen. I took him to a groomer that showed me a dog breed book, and the similarities are undeniable. I guess that's what you get with a rescue dog. You can never really be sure what breed the puppies are. He's had a hair cut, and I have started to explore the fashion options available with a puppy this small. Here is a picture of his favorite(and only) tshirt.
I am determined to find him a San Diego Padres jersey and a Chargers uniform. He does this trick where he'll sit up on his hind legs and when you throw him a stuffed animal and say "touchdown pass," he'll catch it between his paws. It's adorable. It would just be perfect if he did it in a Chargers uniform. Would it not?
So there he is. The latest addition to our pack... Frankypants, the PBGV
