Here I was out in the back yard enjoying playtime with my three siblings and Beatrice, the family Briard (a very old breed of French working dog) when I heard the front doorbell ring. Beatrice took off through the doggie door with me right behind her just in time to grab onto her tail. As we rounded the corner with me hanging on for dear life, there stood two strangers - humans - a man and a woman. I stopped dead in my tracks, letting go of Beatrice's tail and stared at the two strangers. The man scootched down and put his hand out. Suddenly, I had an uncontrolable urge to run up to him. It was love at first site, and before I knew it, I was off to my new home in Scottsdale, AZ. I was a 10 week old male Pug. You know, the dogs with the smooshed in face - kind of like a Pekinese, but with short hair, and much more handsome.
The man's name was Joe, but I learned later that most people called him Smokey, and his wife was named Jodi. When we arrived at my new home, I discovered that there were other animals that lived there. Well, I thought, this must be a great place to live with these other animals, and I'll make some new friends. There was Coco, the family's black cat who loved to make mischief; Cinders, a Mini-Schnauzer with an attitude, and Star, a very large German Shepherd who had enormous ears and a very large mouth. "Wow," I thought. "I could fit my whole head and then some into that big mouth. A little scarey at first.
Jodi took me into her arms, sat down on the ottoman, and put me in her lap. All the other animals came over for a look, except for Cinders, who kept her distance for the moment. When Star came to check me out, Jodi said, "Now, Star, this is little Jessie James, and he's not your lunch!" Well that was good to know! And I guess my new name was going to be Jessie. Not bad, I could deal with that.
Cinders finally came over to check me out after the others were done sniffing and licking me . When I poked my head towards her expecting a nice hello lick, she growled. Hmmm, not a very friendly attitude indeed. OK, so I was learning the pecking order in this new family. Even though Star was larger, I would soon learn that it was Cinders who was the boss in this group, and very demanding.
I overheard later that it was Smokey Joe's 50 birthday, and that I was his special gift from Jodi. I must admit, I did feel particularly special. And boy, was I excited to be in my new home, running all over the place.
Smokey and Jodi crate trained their dogs when they were puppies to aid in house-training, so I was introduced to my very own crate complete with a nice soft bed and a few new toys. I was fine when they first put me to bed, but then I started missing my Mom and siblings and started to whimper. Star came over and layed down right at the front of the crate where I could see and smell her. She would be the one to comfort me this night and all through my life. She would also become my protector. With a full stomach and Star right there, I feel asleep. Life was good!
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