Dexter the Puppydog

Dexter – born on February 12, 2008 and arrived with us in May of that year. He was 13 weeks old and cute as a button. Charlie and I not being a dog owner for many years weren’t really prepared for our new arrival. One day we were talking about getting a puppy and the next thing we knew we were going to pick up the little guy. So once we got him home we talked about what and where we were going to put Dexter at night. We had a pet carrier we had bought for Wezzie, our cat, when we made our move to Florida and decided that since Dexter was so small that would be just fine for him for the first few nights. Nighttime came and we got ready for bed and placed our beloved puppy into the carrier. Both of us were waiting for the whining to begin. As the night progressed we heard nothing from Dexter. I awoke several times throughout the night listening for any signs of life. Early the next morning both Charlie and I awoke and we both looked at each other and wondered why we hadn’t heard a thing from the little guy. After all it was his first night away from his other family. We got up and opened the carrier. There he was all scrunched up in the back of the carrier scared to death. We had a heck of a time getting him out of the carrier. Boy, did I feel bad for the little guy.

We finally got him out and then out for a bathroom break as he hadn’t gone since evening. Then our second day began with our beloved Dexter. He had to be right near us at all times, if we left him, he would sit there a whine. My first clue that this night would be different than our first night together. We played and cuddled with our new found puppy and just plain enjoyed him. Wondering how he would do the next day when we had to leave him to go to work. Nighttime came and again we put Dexter in the pet carrier. Well, the door wasn’t even fully shut and the whining began. Now please keep in mind that Charlie had made it VERY clear that NO DOG was going to sleep in our bed. We got into bed and listened for let’s see, 1 minute maybe, and you guessed it, Dexter joined us in bed. Now a much happier puppy, we all settled in for a good night’s sleep. And of course Dexter still to this day sleeps in the bed with us.

Our first day of work with our new puppy – we borrowed a crate from our neighbors to use till we could get out and get one. Getting Dexter into the crate was no problem, just threw in a treat, blanket and a few toys and closed to door. Out the door I went, didn’t even get into the car and I could hear him inside whining and barking. I was brave and continue on thinking it won’t last long. According to our wonderful neighbors, dogs lovers also, he didn’t carry on too long. So we figured we had the problem of what to do with Dexter when we left for work solved. Boy did we have a lot to learn about Doxies!! Dexter was a very determined puppy, stubborn could be a better way to describe him. He learned quickly the pattern in the morning when I was getting ready for work. Once I took my shower he would head under the bed. Nothing you did could coax him out, not even a treat!! So now I was trying to figure out how to outsmart this little guy. I would get everything together early so that after my shower I could spend time with him before I had to leave. Well this worked for about a day, again he figured out my plan. Putting him in the cage just got harder and harder, he would cry and bark and carry on like we were killing him.

One day when Charlie was out of town and I had to work longer than we thought he could handle, we asked our wonderful neighbors, Mike and Anna, to come over and let him out for a bathroom break. They gladly accepted. Anna came over to get him around noon and get him out for a bathroom break, then took him over to their home to play with their shelties, Jessi and Jemi. When I arrived home from work and went to get Dexter, Mike told me that the blanket was wet and they assumed he had had an accident in the crate. I checked it out and the blanket was definitely wet, so I washed out the crate and blanket for the next day. Again they were there to help out the next day with him till I got home and again the blanket was all wet. I started to think, why he is now wetting in his crate. The week went on pretty much the same and finally the weekend arrived and I was home with Dexter, which he loved. He really didn’t like being alone. I had to run up to the local store, just a mile away for a few things, so of course I put Dexter into the crate and assured him I wouldn’t be long. 20 minutes later I arrived only to find Dexter soaking wet!! The crate was soaked also. I was dumfounded. I had to get a towel to dry off Dexter. After many attempts to figure out what or how he was getting so wet, we came to the conclusion he just got himself so worked up that he drooled why too much and soaked himself and the crate. So now our mission was to find a gate to block off the kitchen area for the puppy to confine him in while we were gone, giving him more room to move about. So off to the pet store again to see what we could find. Pet store visits were getting to be a regular thing each weekend. Our mission was to find a gate and a bed that Dexter would use as the one I originally purchased for him he refused to use. We were finding this next to impossible as we of course had an odd size opening. The crate however, we learned would fit with the door opened just right to block the kitchen off. So now every day we would move the crate over to the opening and then I would leave via the front door as Dexter watched, giving me the saddest looks ever. But in the long run this worked out much better, he adapted to this much better than the crate and we felt much better about leaving him. And guess what, now it seemed okay to curl up on the blanket in the crate and sleep while we were gone. Still though I had to outsmart him or he would hide under the bed. I guess he figured if he hid under the bed and didn’t come out that I wouldn’t leave him. A couple of times I had to leave, so I just closed all the bedrooms doors, picked up the area rug and hoped for the best. This of course he loved, having the free run of the place.

Let see, it all started last Easter when our sister-in-law Janie brought up the subject of dachshunds. She worked in a vet's office and someone had come in with puppies. She immediately thought of Charlie. He had grown with dachshunds and had stated several times that if he ever got another dog it would be a doxie. She wanted to know if we would be interested in one of the puppies. That is all it took! The thought was now in our heads, live with a dog? We had always talked that when our cat, wezzie, went we were through being pet owners, and now here we were thinking of getting a puppy and wezzie was still with us.

Well when Janie got ready to leave I asked Charlie, are you really interested in getting a puppy?? Yes of course he was and we told her to get us the information so we could contact the person with the puppies. Well, weeks went by and no call, emails or anything from Janie. So we wondered, what had happened. Here she got our hopes up and then didn't deliver. So I emailed her to see what was up and started my own search on the internet for breeders here in Florida.

Charlie was determined that he was going to get one for FREE... Well he was living in the dark ages. I knew that if we found one we liked we would have to pay for the dog. Next we couldn't seem to agree on what kind. Little did we know there were so many various. He really wanted the standard doxie, smooth red coat, I was leaning towards a black and tan one. After numerous searches on the internet looking at many, many website and emailing back and forth with the breeders I finally narrowed it down to about three different breeders.

All had puppies available, now which one was for us. One breeder was local, just a few miles from us, so I emailed the breeder telling her what we wanted and waited to hear back from her. Of course I wanted to meet the puppies and parents and price was one of our consideration. So for now I was focusing on the price everybody wanted for the puppies. Days went by and no a email, call anything from this local breeder. So I continued on to the next breeder. She was probably a good hour and half drive from us but at least she responded. She sent me photos and gave me prices. Next I tried one more breeder I happened to stumble across. She was 3 hours away, but very good at sending pictures of the puppies she had available and her asking prices. I was hooked, she sent us two different photos, one for a black and tan and one creme longhaired. The moment I opened up the creme longhaired I knew we had found our puppy. Keep in mind this was not at all the puppy we started looking for. But he was just adorable. I just couldn't wait for Charlie to get home and show him the puppy. We looked at all the photos the breeders had sent up and we both agreed on the creme longhaired puppy.

Next I contacted the breeder by email to ask a few more questions, like how old was he, how big would he get and many more. It was kind of silly as I knew no matter what she told us we were getting this puppy. She called the very next morning and I told her we just loved the puppy and we had made our minds up he was the one. Then we had to decided if we really wanted to drive that far to get him. Gas prices were over 3.50 at this time. We really didn't hesitate very much we decided he was worth the trip. So we called back the breeder and told her we would take him. She was nice enough to meet us in Gainsville, Fl, which saved us over an hour drive each way. I was so excited. The time couldn't pass fast enough for me. We finally started out to go get our DEXTER.

Once we found the pet store where we were going to meet, time again dragged by as we waited for Joan, the breeder, to show up. We both were very excited and once we saw her vehicle we jumped out of the car. She got Dexter out of the back seat and I instantly fell in love with him. He was just so adorable.

Here he is once we got him home that wonderful Saturday in MAY.