May 9, 2011

We cannot believe what a handsome, (just look at his pictures and judge for yourself!), good natured, sweet, well behaved, and overall amazing dog Tanner is. He arrived on Friday and was greeted by my wife and I, our two daughters, and two resident dogs. We were of course a little nervous how Tanner would react to our dogs, but he was just thrilled to see them. He wagged his tail, and quickly took a liking to both of them. He must have been around dogs before, because he follows them around like they are his long lost buddies. The resident dogs have taken to him as well.

Tanner enjoyed walking around the yard and getting to know his surroundings, both with our dogs, and sometimes just on his own.

Tanner arrived pretty dirty, so we gave him a bath in our laundry room tub sink. He was such a good boy---he didn't exactly love the bath---but allowed us to lather him up and scrub him to get some of that dirt and smell off of him. (You can see he's still a little wet from the bath in some of the photos).

Things are never perfect in these new situations, and Tanner was a little nervous about coming inside the house. The doorways were a little scary for him, and even things like a shiny floor took some time to get used to. But by the end of the weekend, he became perfectly comfortable not only coming in and out of the house, but going from room to room as if he lived here his entire life. We've gone away and left him home with the dogs, and even by himself for a few hours and he was a perfect gentleman. No accidents, no chewing, no barking, nothing. Just quietly sat by the door and waited for us to return.

Many things are still new to him, but you can just see that smart "Golden" in him, and he's taking in everything and quickly learning the ropes. I've taken him for a couple of walks on a leash and he's already a better leash walker than my two resident dogs. But the resident dogs have been great trainers. For example, Tanner wasn't quite sure about how to get into the car, no matter how many times we tapped the seat or lifted his paws up. But then we called our other dogs, who jumped into the car as they normally do. That's all it took for this smart boy, who proudly jumped in by himself. He rides great in cars too! He likes all of us, but has taken a special liking to our girls. He snuggles up with them, and puts his paws up on their lap when they are sitting in a chair.

We don't know much about his past, only that he was found on an Indian Reservation, and then later to Rosie's shelter up North. Other than being a little shy and unfamiliar with some things---given his incredible good nature so far, we know he's been well treated, been around both adults and children, and appears to have been well fed. Hard to guess his age--he's not a puppy, I'm guessing maybe 1- 2 years old? We'll ask the vet on his visit in a few days.

We've fallen in love with this guy in just our first weekend. Tanner looks right into your eyes and just has that special way about him that's difficult to describe, but you know it when you see it. We are happy for him, but a little sad for us already, because we know he's going to be a very quick adoption and make an amazing part of someone's family.