Our Little Bun

Last week, my neighbor informed me that the local SPCA was running a deal where dogs could be adopted for $20, which included up-to-date shots, microchip, license, and being spayed.  So, even though Brandon was out of town, I decided to take a look.  My wonderful neighbor, Mary Ann, came along with Renae, Seth, and me so that she could give me a second opinion.

Cincinnati has two SPCA buildings.  The first one we went to was kind of scary.  The staff didn't do much other than point us in the right direction.  The kennel holding the adoptable dogs was set up so that the dogs faced each other.  As soon as we entered the kennel, the barking was deafening.  The dogs were jumping up on the doors of their cages, some were fighting, and very few looked nice enough to want to get to know.  We asked to meet one dog named Jeb, who was a basenji/terrier mix.  He was good natured, but was something of an escape artist, we learned.  He never once looked like he wanted something to do with us, never even approaching us.  Mary Ann is something of a dog person, and his behavior worried her, too.  It's hard to say if that was something he'd grow out of, but we really wanted a dog who would play with us.  So, we left; Renae was devastated.

I didn't think we had time to go to the other SPCA, but in order to appease Renae, I told her that after Nicholas got off the bus, we'd go see the other dogs.  When we got there, I was amazed at how different this shelter was from the other one.  The staff was friendly, the dogs didn't face each other, so the kennels were much quieter, and the facility was much newer and nicer.  We were immediately drawn to a little black and white shih tzu.  When we met with her in a side room, she immediately started playing with the kids, and we knew she was the one we wanted.

Initially the kids wanted to name her Hallie, but the name never really took.  Renae quickly started calling her "Bun."  And, oddly enough, that name did take.  She's roughly 2 years-old and has had a bit of a rough life up until this point.  But, Bun is a sweetie and loves to run, cuddle, and play.  Renae especially loves to refer to Bun as her pup.

 

We had one scary incident when a neighbor's pit bull mix came charging out of their home and attacked her.  He never actually bit Bun, but it was scary, and she has had a difficult time around other dogs since then (she had previously loved playing with the same neighbor's chihuahua).  But, we're hoping that she'll start to trust other dogs again.