To a handsome 2yo RR.

After my weekend discussion with M, we decided to meet Duke. On Monday afternoon, we drove about 30 minutes north to the kennel. Duke was very excited to get out of the cage he was in. After a bunch of RR hugs (which we'll need to work on - he's very strong), we took him down to the country road and went for a walk. He was obviously a beautiful dog, but we were still weary of bringing a large, "unknown" dog into our family for the obvious reasons (adoption, Yoshi, our "no-commitments" lifestyle). But this guy was great on a leash and after the walk just sat nicely by our side while we were learning more about him....

About a month ago, Duke was turned over to animal control after being found roaming in the countryside near Juli*n, CA. He was taken to a shelter in Carlsb*d, and after four days was released to Rhodesi*n Ridgeb*ck Rescue. He did well in the house of the head coordinator for our region, but she was already hosting another rescue, had two dogs herself, and a young baby. That's when Duke went to the kennel, about a week before we met him.

We told the coordinator that we would have to discuss our decision overnight. She was very mindful of our family situation, having been part of her sister's adoption of two boys from Kaz. (Small world!) But she thought Duke had the right temperment for our soon-to-be family... She does not think Duke is purebred RR but maybe mixed with Lab. The signs: his slightly longer coat, slightly shorter ears and he's a very sweet, affectionate dog (RR tend to be "aloof" with strangers).

When we got home, the first thing M said was "that was a cool dog". (YES!) I didn't want to push it too hard. When I first brought up adopting Duke, M was tentative since we had already decided that we would wait until after the adoption, we were settled and then we'd adopt a purebred RR puppy. This seemed to make sense because typically RR rescue dogs are not tolerant of cats, children, etc. because they haven't been adequately socialized when they were puppies.

On Tuesday morning I emailed the coordinator and asked if we could foster Duke with the intent to adopt pending his tolerance to Yoshi and whether his sweet side translated into the type of dog we could imagine with our children. The rescue coordinator was cool with this idea.

The next couple of days were a rush of research, filling in paperwork, buying dog supplies and getting our house dog proofed. And getting safe places set up for Yoshi. We also had a mini-homestudy on Thursday afternoon.

So Duke went into the doctor's office on Friday to get neutered. (Note M is in denial about this) I picked him up at 1PM and he's been home with us! He's just a sweet "as advertised", and is a perfect houseguest. No countersurfing, going through the garbage, sits nicely, housebroken, and a real couch potato.

I think he'll fit in well here. Next time: Yoshi & Duke meet.

Sorry still can't get the pictures to work!