Meet Fergie!

The first of the big changes of 2013 has come about: on Saturday, February 9, our family grew by one (and four paws), when Fergie came home with us from the Fairfax County Humane Society.  Here's Sarah with our girl out at the HSFC farm:

After months of "I wanna puppy" and talking about how things would be different, that morning we went out to meet the dogs and especially Fergie, whom we'd seen online and who looked like a sweetie.  She greeted us very warmly right away, with a whipping tail that showed how happy she was to see us.  We met one other dog that day, but kept coming back in our hearts to Fergie.  We were so happy to be able to take her home with us that day.

Fergie is about two, maybe two-and-a-half years old, a blend of black lab and what looks like doberman in her face, maybe some pit bull in her eyes, and a touch of boxer in her stance, and brindle-brown down her legs and muzzle with a white chest and a couple of white toes.  She was found as a stray down in Page County on July 31, 2012, and taken to the Page County Humane Society, where she received her current name.  She was clearly someone's pet, because when they took her to the vet for a checkup and to be spayed, they found she was already fixed.  Additionally, she knows how to "sit" and was (nominally) housebroken.  Page County's is a kill shelter, but they hung onto her, knowing she was something special; but in December they ran out of room and asked Fairfax to take her.  Someone's apparent loss is our most certain gain.

She has a lot of her puppy energy sometimes, and loves playing fetch and tug of war; her "lab" side comes out in how she has to shakeshakeshake every toy to make sure it's well and thoroughly dead.  However, she also has a cuddly side, and will settle in with you on the couch to watch TV and just be scritched.  We're learning more sides of her personality all the time; she snores; she can play-bite and roughhouse, and then be just a puppy-eyed charmer (now who wouldn't want to take this face home?):

We're all learning to adapt to having her with us: there have been "accidents," and we have to master the fact that even when it's pouring, Fergie needs to go out.  She also displays some "leash aggression," growling or barking at other dogs while she's on her leash (but plays well in off-leash, apparently, according to HSFC).  We also wonder if the crate and the basement were the "bad dog" places at her former house: she won't stay in her crate willingly, and while she'll run up and down our main stairs, she will not go down to the basement no matter who or how many of us are down there.

We start dog-training (really, people-training) on March 2 with her, and we hope to reach our mutual levels of comfort and routine shortly.  Our lives have certainly been changed--it's almost like having a new toddler in the house again--but look into those eyes and tell me it's not worth it?