Yes, we did it ... replaced Skruffy today, and we did not even try. Arny was going to cook some ribs for 4th of July, and I stuck my head out the motorhome around 11:30 am to ask what time we needed to have our Mashed Cauliflower ready when Sandy says, "You gotta look at this." It was a picture of a dog...this dog...being advertised on "NextDoor". (
Nextdoor is a hyperlocal social networking service for neighborhoods.) I showed Marcia, and she said, "I WANT THAT DOG!"
Within 5 minutes Sandy and I were on our way. Because NextDoor is so local, we knew it was close...ended up less than 5 miles away. The family had her for about 6 weeks, and she is about 5 1/2 months old. (As far as I am concerned, she was born on December 24, 2019...the day Skruffy passed away.) They said they are moving to a place that does not allow dogs...so they needed to find it a home.
Even before we left I suggested we call her "Indy", for Independence Day, the day we got her. Sandy wanted her middle name to be "K.", which is her middle name. When she was adopted her middle name was Kay, but the adoption papers said "K.", and we always teased her about her middle name being "Capital K Period". At first it probably hurt her feelings a bit...but she came to wear the name with honor, and she deserves all the honor we boys can give her. Hard to come live with four older boys, that is for sure. Patti, her biological sister, joined the family as an adult, so she missed out on all that fun.
So, we are HAPPY to have a second dog in our household again. Bubba is 17 years old this year, and his ability as a service dog for Marcia is going down hill fast. It is his hearing and his sleeping that make it hard for him to fulfill his duties. Afraid Marcia is going to fall one of these days back at the Condo when I am away, and Bubba will sleep right through it instead of coming over to her to help (we put a cell phone on his back so she would have access to call for help.) We will spend as much time these next few month preparing Indy for her duties, but we might need to have both Bubba and Indy there for a few months, which I am sure the Condo Association will throw a fit about...only time will tell if that is needed.
Yes, some resemblances...but many differences. It will take awhile for Indy to get used to us, and for us to get use to her, and to train her (and for her to train us). She won't be SKRUFFY, she will be INDY, each with their own personality.
Our 4th of July did not turn out like we thought, and for that, we are SO THANKFUL!. So much so, I created a song by altering a Martina McBride song...
Let freedom ring, let the little doggie sing
Let the whole world know that today
Is a day of remembering.
Let Marcia be helped, the doggie lets out a yelp
Roll the door away, this doggies going to stay
It's "Independence's Day"
WELCOME to the FAMILY Independence K. Burdick, aka: INDY We will love you, and show you so much of the USA, just as we have with Skruffy and with Bubba...perhaps a little of Canada too.
