Growing up, I had six dogs at one time. Six. Actually, my parents had six dogs. I was merely an innocent bystander. Naturally, when I could get my own place to live, I went the cat route.

When we decided to adopt a dog, Bella, I was reminded of all the things I missed about having a dog. Dogs are like goofy toddlers without the tantrums. They just want love and sometimes they crap in unexpected places. Then came Juliet, a failed attempt at fostering. If you’ve never had more than one dog at any given time, allow me to educate you: they have quite different personalities. Bella is my prissy dog with a sense of adventure; Juliet is my eternal toddler who gets so excited about new toys that she’s prone to throw up. They enjoy each other’s company well enough. With the two cats, it was a pretty good dynamic we had going on here.

So why risk throwing that dynamic off? Cause I’m a sucker for a cute face and a sad tale, and really, what’s one more dog when you’ve once lived with 6?

This is Sable, or Sable Rose as we call her. My favorite dog growing up was a German Shepherd, so I have a soft spot for them. Sable has a bit of an interesting background. Essentially, she was just kept for breeding purposes. It was evident that she hadn’t been given much in terms of socialization. She is so incredibly love-starved that it borders on ridiculous, but there’s nothing wrong with a dog that jus wants love. I was concerned how she’d be with the cats, but it’s been okay so far.
Initially, she was terrified of them. They looked at her, after all. But now there’s a lot of playing and loving on each other. Sable hasn’t figured out that she can’t play with cats like she can with Juliet. Juliet and Sable could easily spend hours chasing and tumbling with each other. Bella joins in too sometimes, but she’s more laid back lately. Sable is by far the cuddliest dog we have. She’ll snuggle all night, which is fine by me since Juliet usually grunts in protest if I try to snuggle her and Bella just gets up and lays elsewhere. Sable is definitely more of a challenge in getting her accustomed to “civilized” life, but she is very smart.

On a side note, adding another dog to the group gives them more of a pack dynamic. It’s interesting seeing how they fall into place. Bella has always been alpha dog and will concede some things, but if Sable crosses that invisible line, Bella is quick to pull rank. It’s just a lot of growling and the occasional wrestling, but they have to sort it out for themselves.

Now I’m 100% sure that I’m done adding dogs to the mix. The animals have now outnumbered the people in the household, and if they ever figure that one out it could mean trouble.