Noah named her "Dodi"

This morning we got all of our dog supplies together and set off for Buffalo. After an hour on the road we pulled up to a rusty old trailer and wondered if we should even let Noah out of the car. The woman smoking in the driveway spotted us, so Stan picked him up and brought him into what I now think of as "the trash house".

We didn't see their baby, but the couple and their 2 year old child were filthy. The floor was also filthy, where it was still holding together. From what we could see of the carpet in the bedroom, it was made up of a multitude of stains, covered with garbage and edged with crusty dirt.

I sat down on the couch while Stan stood at the door holding Noah and trying not to throw up from the sight of their sewer of a bedroom that was crowding into his peripheral vision. I asked her to sign a paper stating that we payed $250 for the dog and they sold it to us. She told us she hadn't been able to enjoy the nice weather because she had "cleaned up for our arrival". Wow. Simply amazing.

The little girl kept bringing me all of their cats to admire. (They had 3 cats and 6 dogs living with the family of 4 in a small trailer. It still makes my heart ache for the kids as well as the animals thinking about it.) When running after yet another cat, she tripped over the vent in the floor and it came flying out. She was okay, but I could tell the parents were embarrassed.

As soon as it seemed polite, I grabbed the cute little black bundle that had been bounding around my feet and headed for the door (It helped that I had a pocket full of dog treats). We brought her to the car, put her in the kennel and took her out immediately so the little girl could kiss her goodbye. When we were pulling away Stan said, "I didn't think poverty like that still existed in Minnesota. Wow. I think they sold their dog for Christmas money."

I sat with the kennel on my lap, trying to ignore the smoky smell emanating from the dog. She was mellow, laying down most of the way home. We stopped at PetSmart to get shampoo and then were off for home. It took three times and a lot of rinsing before the water ran clear. I guess the black was hiding all of the dirt. Reade got here while I was drying her off and helped brush her out and trim her hair. We didn't get all of it done, but could finally see her face. After that Reade took her for a short walk while we had lunch. We followed that up with a long family walk and a cuddle on the couch. I trimmed some more of the hair around her feet, which was long and matted.

So far she has been a great dog, mellow and cuddly. She needs training, but seems eager to please. I think she needed us, her owners needed money and we needed a good dog. Not exactly an Xmas miracle, but a good deal for all involved. I think this is going to be good.

P.S. Pictures are coming!