New Kid on the Block...and no, it's not Danny, Donnie, Joe, John or Jordan

"What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight; it's the size of the fight in the dog." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
We have a new addition to the Rosencrans' family! Her name is Ruby and she's a sweet little Labradoodle.
I've been pleading my case for a few months now with Tim to get another dog. Waylon really needed a buddy to play and run with and I felt like we could do something good by adopting a dog that needed a home. After researching for the last month, I found the KY Lab Rescue in Winchester. We went yesterday morning to look at the dogs and take a bucket full of goodies for the dogs we couldn't bring home. (As most people that know me can attest, I would bring every one home if at all possible.) I think Tim was a little worried about taking me there because I always cry when we go in PetSmart!
So, when we got to the rescue, we first laid eyes on a pitiful, Nicole Richie-skinny black lab that had just been rescued from a puppy mill. She was absolutely terrified, she just sat in her kennel and shook. She finally let Tim and I pet her after about an hour of cajoling. The lady told us she would actually probably have to put the dog down, not because of health issues, but because she was so incredibly timid and unsocial. At that point, the tears started rolling fast. I thought Tim was going to cry, too. The stories behind these animals is so heartwrenching it's unbelievable. Along with the black lab, 13 others had been rescued along with her from the same puppy mill. The breeder had 250 dogs, yes 250, that he was currently breeding to sell pups. All these dogs were crated and only got out for breeding purposes. The breeder decided he needed to get rid of a few of the non-productive breeders or ones that were beyond their prime, so he took them to the backyard and began shooting them in the head. Luckily, his wife came out and stopped him and called the rescue to come pick them up. One of the other females the rescue picked up was a very lucky little girl because she was the animal the breeder was getting ready to shoot when the wife came out. She had about a 6 inch graze on her head where the breeder shot and she jerked away just in time.
Getting back to our new addition, her name is Ruby and she was rescued from another irresponsible breeder who thought he couldn't get enough money out of the last four pups in his litter because they were too old....a whole 9 weeks old and they were worthless to him. The were so infested with worms and fleas it was pitiful. Four pups were rescued, two of which were in such bad shape they had to be euthenized when they returned to the rescue. Luckily, Miss Ruby was saved, though she's been through a lot in the first 13 weeks of her life. She only weighed 3 pounds when she was brought to the rescue at 9 weeks old....just to give you an idea of how emaciated that is, Waylon weighed almost 8 pounds when we brought him home at 9 wks old and he is a much, much smaller dog than Ruby.
We have an appointment with the vet today because I want to make sure everything checks out okay with her and she doesn't need any additional health attention. Hopefully everything will go well....I think Ruby is in love with our home already.

The new and improved Ruby.

For a guy that didn't want another dog, he's awfully smitten!

She's gonna be a big girl, look at those long legs!

Grooming wore her out.

Ruby pre-bath and grooming. Can you believe I brought that home? She was so good while I cut her hair, I couldn't believe it.