My New Friend and Housemate

 I rarely post photos of myself on FB or here, but I adopted this dog yesterday, April 15,  from the Humane Society of Northwest Georgia and want to commemorate it here. 

Backstory: I have wanted a dog of my own for a while (I have another but not able to see her) but thought I might be going out of the country and wasn't going to leave a dog for weeks. That fell through, so I started to consider it more. Last Saturday I was at an event where a rep from the Humane Society had dogs for adoption, and Butter was one of them. I fell in love, as much as I can with a dog (I'm not that sentimental about dogs, and he is not my "fur baby.") He was so chill, so quiet, and so good with people. However, I figured he would be adopted in a day or so after that. 

Yesterday I filled out the application (rather long, by the way) and went by when the facility was open. I waited to be approved and started the tour, figuring Butter was gone. I looked at maybe 25 dogs or so, and was cataloging the possibilities. But toward the end, there was Butter--still in his cage, still chill but looking very much like he needed to come home with me. Within an hour, he did. 

He is manipulative about treats, likes my yard, doesn't try to get on furniture, is calm, affectionate, but a little sad with his eyes. Maybe an old woman like me is not his best home, but no one wanted him and he's better off with me than in a cage at the shelter. 

I do want to give a shout out to the Humane Society. It is "upscale" and well run; its cleanliness was quite impressive. I went to another shelter 13 years ago to get Buddy (I've now had three dogs with Bu names: Bumper, Buddy, and Butter) and it was a "sign these papers, give us $40, here he is." I felt like I was getting a car loan at this Humane Society. But they don't want the dogs returned and are committed to them being cared for. Great volunteers, too. Also, the dog was fully cared for so I don't have to get him altered. My only nonpreference is that I prefer female dogs, but he is so calm I can't tell the difference.

By the way, he is sixty pounds, 3-4 years old, and a lab- mixed with either a Great Pyrenese or husky or similar type dog.  He's quite stout, but I prefer bigger dogs anyway. They had a lot of Chihuahuas and even "pairs" of smaller dogs. The volunteers guessed he hadn't been taken yet because of his size, but it's not like he's an Akita or St. Bernard, and he won't get bigger.