I Have a New Girlfriend

Yes, Lala knows. She was there when I decided I needed more. A wife was just not enough. I needed another girl to love.

Meet Clara:

Oh, my god. I'm head over heels.

So here's how it went down: Ever since we moved here, I'd been thinking about getting a dog for me. I have Harriet and Miss Idaho, of course, and they love me, but their little heads explode when Lala comes home, and I love how she looks at them, and I wanted that. Plus, I wanted a tall dog, one I could run with. Harriet hates running when it's not in order to catch a squirrel.

So last week, we decided it was time. By that I mean I decided, and Lala was very good to me about it. I went out looking, ending up visiting five shelters in three cities. One pup, a cattledog named Darby spoke to me, and I adored him, but he thought Miss Idaho was prey when we introduced them at the shelter, and that's not cool. She's not even much of an appetizer, you know? Quick snack, and that's all. Not worth it.

We met Clara at the Oakland SPCA, a wonderful, wonderful place. Clean, well-run, nicest people in the world working there. We met her, petted her, liked her, played with her, and left her to go look at another place. After we left, I couldn't stop thinking about her. It was weird. And then when I decided suddenly and irrevocably that she was the one for me, I was terrified that by the time I got back to the shelter, she'd be gone (she'd only been on the market there for one day, yesterday, and another family had been interested in her). I dropped Lala at home and drove hell for leather to the shelter where I picked up my dog.

She's perfect, by the way. You know why? Let me list the ways:

*   She's a border collie, a sheepherder. You know me and sheep. (Mom, I bet you had dogs just like her on the sheep farm growing up, right?) (No, I know I don't need sheep. Not really.)

*   She doesn't bark, even when Harriet and Miss Idaho are going crazy right next to her, barking at people on the sidewalk.

*   She isn't scared of any noises, not even the vacuum cleaner.

*   She's soft and long-haired, and doesn't mind brushing.

*   She rides in the car with the top down and smiles at things, but doesn't freak out. Just sits and smiles.

*   She's the best walker ever, neither pulling nor hanging back, just walking next to me and nudging my hand with her head every once in a while. Oh! That must be herding! Cool.

Those are the pros. The cons are few: She splashes a lot when she drinks. She poops BIG. Damn big. I was used to little dogs, I suppose (Clara's 48 pounds and a year and a half -- won't get much bigger). She's super energetic and would be a chewer if we let her. But she's being crate trained which she already seems to like, and she has plenty of toys to throw in the air and catch. Which she does. Because she's CUTE.

Her name: Colleen, the nicest SPCA worker ever, named her Claire after her sister because of her sweetness. MY sister Christy came over last night and said "Clara" which I liked even more. Then Lala came home and said "Clarabell" which is her professional dancer name, which suits her down to the ground.

More pics you say? Well, all right! This is coming home yesterday. Can you tell we're happy?

These are from our first real walk today, up in the national forest which is 5 minutes away from our Oakland home:

    Harriet leads the way.

    Miss Idaho at my heels, as usual.

    It's gorgeous out here. And we only met one jogger and one horse-mounted patrol.

    I liked 'em.

    We rest a moment.

    Harriet continues to blaze the trail for us.

    A matched set! We finally have stackables!

    Harriet and Clara even like riding in the backseat together.

    At home, with her favorite toy. (Leash on; we're doing the umbilical thing for a couple of weeks.)

    I'm in love.

Comments

[P-la]

Congratulations on the newest addition to your family!!

[Inky]

I can TOTALLY see why you fell in love with Clara!!! She's a perfect addition to the family :)

[Mary-Heather]

Cute, cute, cute! Congratulations!

[Kat]

Oh what a sweetie! She's got that same happy 'what are we gonna do? let's go!" smile that my Java has. Wanna see? - http://nextproject.typepad.com/for_my_next_project/2006/05/j_is_for_java.html

Looks like she has a bit of spanial in her too. BTW- I've found the size of the poop is directly related to the quality of food. Better quality food = smaller poops.

[Mariko]

Congrats! She sounds PERFECT!!!

[jess]

aw, congrats on the addition! she is such a cutie! :)

[Becca]

Did you know that border collies make the best agility dogs in the world? And agility training is big fun--seriously.

[Lisa]

Aw, she's wonderful. I love the name Clara! Congratulations.

[Ann]

Is Digit feeling overwhelmed by all the girl power at your house?

(She's lovely.)

[Christina]

Congratulations!!

[--Deb]

Awwww!!

[Jaime]

Congratulations on your new Love! She is beautiful.

[greta]

oh, I can see where THIS is going...
Clara is going to *have to* herd some sheep or alpacas or something and you'll be sliding down that slippery slope....
she's BEAUTIFUL! I remember all the sighing you did at the sheep dog trials at MSWF....
it was just MEANT to be!
Good for you!

[Gretchen]

Congratulations! Dogs are the best (in my opinion) and it sounds like you adopted one of the best! Here is to many walks on beautiful days, and to many licks in the face to let you know you are loved!

[Carrie]

Clara is an adorable, adorable schmoo. What a fabulous addition to the fam. Bella and Chili say arf!

[Celia]

OH MY DOG! I mean GOD!

[Toni]

OMG! I am so jealous, I want two pugs named Miss Emily and Miss Lily Bee but we have to wait until we move. Congratulations on the newest member of your family.

[Jenn]

She's such a cutie! And seems to be much better behaved than our border collie, who barks at everything, is afraid of her leash, is afraid of people, terrified of any loud noises and hates riding in the car. (We think maybe she was inbread). But she's still a sweetie!
Welcome to the world of 3 dog ownership!

[wendy]

congrats to both you and clara! here's a tip for the poop thing: higher quality food has less fillers and other junk in it, so the poop will be smaller. it will also help to keep her coat healthy, and she will shed less. check out something like science diet, i really like them.

ps - i'm a trained vet tech, not just a crack pot :D

[Sarah]

She's beautiful, just look at that smile! So happy to hear such a wonderful adoption story. I wouldn't trade my doggies for anything in the world. I wish you and your new pal many years of happiness and love. (and just my two cents on the poop/feed thing...its true, better quality food=smaller, more regular poop, shinier coat, and less stinky doggy smell.)

[caroline]

Happy, Happy, chica! Hmmm, maybe you should introduce miss clarabell to Panda, Marnie's sweet pea. Something tells me they'd be birds of a feather...

[tracy]

Congratulations!!!! Clara seems like such a peach and a perfect addition. You five are, like, the most adorable family on planet earth.

[spaazlicious]

I'm so happy for you all! She is beautiful--and thus, fits right in!

[Christina in SLO]

Congrats! Love the pic of her smiling in the back seat. My smooth collie LOVES herding so I take him whenever I can. It can be a good outlet if she starts doing things like trying to herd your cats. Ask me how I know... Enjoy your new girl -- she looks like a sweetie!

[Catherine]

She's beautiful! Congratulations!