Meet Our New Dog

 Tony Tony Chopper

I finalized the adoption today of a stag red Miniature Pinscher from the Montgomery County Texas Animal Shelter.  Meet our newest dog, "Tony Tony Chopper".  I didn't name him, my 16-year-old daughter did, after a character in the Japanese pirate-themed anime "One Piece."  If you aren't familiar with the show, don't feel bad!

 At the Red, Hot and Blue Parade. Chopper has slimmed down since this photo.

I first saw Chopper in late June, and I thought at first he was "Rusty," a stag red MinPin I fostered last summer (detailed in an earlier post).  I took Chopper with me for the July 3rd Parade (also in an earlier post), where my husband decided to walk him. He liked the dog, and so I took Chopper home, gave him a bath, wormed him and put flea meds on him. My little rat terrier mix "Cross" seemed to like Chopper, too.  My son was away at college when Taco died, so he had been pestering me (even though he's almost 21) to get a MinPin puppy.  I don't do puppies.  Never have, never will.

I didn't want to force a decision about Chopper right away--we had a trip to New York City and Washington, D.C. planned for a week in early July--so I arranged for Chopper to go to another volunteer's house for four days, until my son could come get him (my son went with us to New York but came home because of his job).  By the time we got back home, Chopper was a part of the family.

My husband was calling him "Brown Dog" and we were waffling between "Sam" (no one liked it except for my husband), "Rusty" and even "Tucker" (the name of our other foster).  While we were in Washington, D.C., my daughter decided there would be no more discussion.  His name was "Tony Tony Chopper."  And that was that.

We love his velvety ears and big brown eyes.

I put off finishing the adoption on Chopper because I had to decide if we were ready to take him on--he's probably about four, and he's heartworm positive.  He's going to our Vet tomorrow (I've decided to stick with Dr. Williams at VCA, but that's a topic for another post).  I'm going to have them check his blood under a microscope for filaria and probably do a general workup.  He's on the Shelter list for the 2-shot treatment, but that program is on hold (again) until the Constable (who is the County official in charge) decides how to pay for it.

Chopper isn't going to "replace" Taco, but we like MinPins, and he's the first one to come in at the Shelter. He's affectionate without being clingy and gets on well with other dogs, which is great for my fosters.  We can take him to pet events or the dog park--things that were hard to do with Taco.  He's small enough to sleep with my son or daughter.  He is a little barkier than he was at first, but that's okay.  He loves to play with chew toys, but doesn't get ugly or bitey when you take them from him.

 Cross likes Chopper, too.

And Cross once again is enjoying her walkies.  She had become pokey about walking alone--she and Taco were deeply bonded, even though they didn't sleep with each other or play together.  Everyone, including Chopper, is happy.