What was your first impression of your dog?

[Laurelin]

Just curious. I hear a lot of people have that whole eye's meet and they know that's their dog... can't say that happened for me at all. Nikki and I did. I met her and she and her brothers were in a box in the people's house. Nikki popped out and I picked her up and never even looked at the other two. The owners told me she was trouble. We spent the whole time there just playing and playing. It was definitely love at first sight.

Summer I knew from since she was a puppy but I didn't get her until years later. I thought she was a strange looking puppy and so did my parents. My dad even mentioned it to me the other day. He said, "Do you remember that ugly puppy in Summer's litter?" Um dad... that was Summer. Luckily she grew into herself- :lol-sign: But when I went to pick her up to bring her home she was four. She seemed right away to be very very angry with me. She gave me hateful glares the entire ride home. She hated Beau because he tried humping her repeatedly. And she ended up following me around the house for the first week and refusing to leave my bedroom. I was wondering what I'd gotten into to be honest.

And Mia... I met her and thought she was adorable at first. Then I noticed she didn't seem very friendly towards me. Looking back on it she was probably trying to figure me out. She screamed at the top of her lungs the entire 6 hour drive home. She started the second I pulled in the driveway. I brought her home and Nard ran her over and made her faceplant. Mia turned around and snapped hard at him. Then I was wondering what I'd done. That night she screamed the whole night and continued to do so for weeks on end. And she chewed so bad too.

 

[CaliTerp07]

Lucy was a total love bug. The shelter had a fenced in area you could take dogs out in, with toys and space to run around. Zach and I took her out and threw a ball, and she ran around our ankles rubbing against us like a cat begging for attention. We spent the whole time out there with her crawling in our laps for cuddles and getting love.

They let us take her out on a walk then, and put her on an easy walk harness. Holy moly, that dog nearly ripped our arms off. We were so enthralled by her spark and curiosity though--she loved life and everything in the world and was excited to see and smell and pee on it all .

Pretty accurate, actually--the pulling has calmed down, but the spark and the snuggles are still just as strong as the first day.

 

[smkie]

Victor's photograph I fell in love with. Knew he was THE one. THen I get there and think OMG, what have I gotten myself into. THis dog may be too far gone. HE was nothing but flailing limbs and add hyperactivity. HIs head swiveled around on his neck like the Exorcist. HE jumped compulsively, on everything from people to walls. THE more you tried to get him down, the more desperate he became to crawl inside your sinuses. CT a member here was critical in saving him from this behavior for I had tried everything with no success. YOu coudlnt' get him to slow down long enough to get a message through to his brain. He gave me a black eye, and we were all scratched to ribbons and felt pummeled.. He didn't sleep and he didn't eat.
I think it was an awful good thing I had made up my mind BEFORE I arrived and stuck with my gut first reaction.

Pepper..I knew she was smart, and she was beautiful, but she was so closed up inside, I didnt' know if she could be reached, if her trust had been blown so far out that she no longer cared. I called her "the cat that walked by himself",

Victor had already done time in a shelter and no one had adopted him. If it wasn't for Connie pulling him out on his last day he would be gone. HE was all of 5 months old.

I honestly believe Pepper would have just kept running away from people until she got hit. That was my first impression of her, and why I couldnt' give her to anyone or turn her over to a shelter. I knew if that behavior wasn't corrected it woudlnt' matter where she went, she would be a dead dog. I have never seen any animal shoot across the road like she did. It was like watching a brown bullet.


Mary, I opened her birthday wrapping, and wiped her dry telling her "your my baby girl for always and always." I knew, with her first breath, that she was a part of me and I was going to be a part of her. Sometimes you just know.

 

[Taqroy]

I saw Murphy through the glass at the humane society first. I think my first reaction was OMG CUTE then hmmmm....what an oddly shaped dog. LOL. Then we got to do a meet and greet with him and my sister's dog and the very first thing he did was pee on a chair. I believe my exact words were "He's good. I can tell." And I was right.

I didn't even get to meet Mu before I brought her home. I met one of her sisters (she was from an oops litter before I knew better ) and fell completely in love. Within the first ten minutes of getting Mu home she peed on the floor and bit me hard enough to leave marks. I will not ever have a puppy again but it was so so worth for the Mu dog.

I saw Tipper online and it was like Murphy, I just KNEW. Seemed weird to me at the time but I was dead on and I will not ever doubt that instinct again. She fits.

 

[corgipower]

Ares was a terror. He was very in tune from the start, he'd look straight into my eyes, he'd watch me move around. He'd let me pet him but didn't get all warm and fuzzy about it, when I tried to pick him up he got very fussy. When I tried to get him to roll over (think belly rub, not alpha roll) he wanted nothing to do with the idea. He had so much attitude I just couldn't resist.

Morgan was picked for me by both the breeder and the woman who would have been her handler had she done breed ring. So I went to the breeder's house and Morgan was the first pup to run over to me. I scooped her up and cradled her in my lap while the other pups had no interest in me. After I sat there petting her, holding her, playing with her and still no interest from the others for almost an hour the breeder informed me that she was the pup they'd picked for me. Little did I know the sweet little puppy act was all a ruse.

When I went to see Tyr, there were only two pups left out of a litter of eight. I loved his intensity and the way he looked the breeder in the eye while they played. I gave him a deposit but needed to do some prep before bringing home a pup, so a week later I went back and got Tyr. It was about an hour drive home and by the time we got there Tyr had thrown up and was seriously foaming at the mouth and trembling violently. I almost turned around to bring him back to the breeder, but decided to give him a chance to warm up to us. I wrapped him in a towel and held him and he continued to tremble for a long time.

I got Morgan out (she's always been great with puppies) and he watched Morgan come over and give me a kiss and he watched Morgan walk around the room. His trembling slowed down a bit so I put him on the floor and played with Morgan a bit. Tyr started to get interested in what we were doing and stopped trembling. Then I got up and walked around and the two of them followed me. I'd stand still and Morgan would walk around and Tyr followed her. She'd stand still while I walked around and he'd follow me. After a few minutes of that, I decided to keep him for a while. I had doubts, but needed to see. And six years later I'm so glad I did.

Nyx was picked for me by the breeder and shipped. The first time I met her she'd just come off a very long flight. She was tired, she was hungry and boy was she cranky. She blinked her eyes at me a couple of times and once she realized I had food she screamed at me. The next day, after she'd had some rest, she started the morning by peeing on my chest and biting my nose. I loved her right then and there.

 

[Jules]

The shelter had posted a group shot of T-Bone's litter and her head popped out in the background and I told Dan that I HAD to see her. So we drove to Raleigh- I think it was about a 3 hour drive one way.

When we got there, they let in the play area with her. There was a tennis ball in there that I lightly bounced and she went puppy-galloping after it but had trouble bringing it back because her mouth wasn't big enough. Bless her heart. Instead, she came bouncing back, hopped on my lap (I was sitting on the floor) and licked my chin, then snuggled in my lap.

That was it. They wouldn't let her go without being spayed, so we came back about 3 weeks later and picked her up.

 

[MandyPug]

My first thoughts about her?

1) How could someone want to give away something this bloody adorable!

*take Izzie home...*

2) Oh... That's why... Where's her "off" button?

 

[JessLough]

My sister's first thought was "why is there a fox in the house?!"

My first thought was "AHHH DOG! RUN AWAY! STAY AWAY FROM ME! I HATE YOU!"

 

[JacksonsMom]

I remember going to get Jackson. It was just from a BYB..... some chicks dog had puppies in Baltimore City. My dad drove with me because he didn't want me driving into Baltimore by myself. So I go into her house, knock on her door, welcomes us in and I saw 2 little male puppies she was carrying in her arms. They honestly both looked exactly the same. And then... this other chick comes in the house to pick a puppy too! Argh. It was sooo awkward because I'm like holding one puppy and am like "uh, ya wanna trade?" hahah. Like I didn't know how to act or what to do.

So basically Jackson was "puppy #1" and the other was "puppy #3". So I swapped puppy #3 for puppy #1 and then I did kind of know. I had that feeling that he was mine. He felt comforted in my arms, whereas the other was like scared to death. So anyways, after I make my decision, the 'breeder' goes on to tell me that "puppy #1 gets car sick! He's gotten sick both times to the vet". I was like, oh GREAT. Sure enough, we get him in the car and he puked all over me, LOL. I thought I had picked the wrong dog for sure. He was sooo shy, he seemed scared, but once we got home... I knew I had made the right decision. He settled right in, he LOVED my dads dog, Lily and was really comforted by another dog being there. So basically after that car ride home, I was 100% sure I loved him already!

This was the first few minutes we were home:
YouTube - Jackson's first few minutes in his new home
YouTube - Jackson's first day at home

 

[Tankstar]

Blaze was in the back of the store in a huge "room" the walls were like 3 feet high, so you could look over, and touch puppies. it was large probably 10X10 feet. with about 10-15 other puppies ranging in all different breeds. He was the only one left of the breed I was looking for collie/sheltie breeds. He was CRAZY playing nuts with a toy one second and a small pom puppy the next lol. The store owner said there was 5 more, but all were sold as they had blue eyes and blue coats, he was the only sable. which wsa fine to me, since I really only like the sable colour any way lol.

Solo was just getting back from the vet and the shelter worker had him wrapped up in a towel they handed me a bag of meds, medical gastro food (a case) and said to call if I had an problems. I didnt see how horrible his condition was until I got in the car and unwrapped him. Im talking literally skin and bones and a gut full of worms. I didnt think "oh I need to keep him" just Ill get him better and he will find a new home. That was the plan until Ryan (SO) fell in love with the rascal lol

 

[Laurelin]

Nard was the best when we first met him. In that day he was lost twice (once under a reclining chair), then he dug a huge hole in the yard, then he decided to combat a scorpion and ended up getting stung in the face and having to go to the vet.

He was only about five weeks old too.

With Rose I heard so much about her but never had seen a picture. She was described to me as being kind of an ugly duckling without a blaze and I was told she looked like her sister (who really isn't a pretty papillon). So I got there holding my breath and when the dogs ran out to greet me, I remember Summer (not mine at the time) running all over me then I spotted this shy little dog in the back with a dark face. She was STUNNING. I am pretty sure my jaw literally dropped.

Beau I met at three days and I thought he looked like a hamster. Then when we brought him home I was just enthralled. It had been 8 years since I'd had a puppy and I was pretty sure this fat, fluffy, freckly thing was the cutest puppy in the history of puppies. And he pretty much was. He was a wonderfully delightful little puppy and he really still is.

 

[PixieSticksandTricks]

Maggie May- when I first met her at the rescue she was barking her head off at me. The woman in charge told me that she didn't like strangers. I told her "thats alright". I knew she was a puppymill rescue and had been through hell and back in her first year of life. So I was prepared for a dog with issues.

But she calmed down and stopped barking. And when I sat on the cold hard floor she came over and layed in my lap whining and shaking. I wasent going anywhere without her. We adopted her and I put her in her crate for our 2 hour drive back home. On our first "rest stop" she was all wiggles and excited to get out and run. And then I knew that the kennel life she had lived before was so not suited for her personality. She wanted to run and jump and play and have constant attention/love. And she gets that everyday with me.

Sawyer- When I first saw Sawyer I thought "What a poor sick puppy". He was chained to the bumper of my neighbors truck with no food, or water, on the hottest day of the summer. His only hope of shade was under the truck. But his chain wouldn't allow him to reach that far. And after he was handed over to me I still worried he would even survive. He was covered in fleas, full of parasites, ill, and starving/dehydrated. But so sweet and just wanted to be loved and given attention and care he deserved.

Morrison- I had taken Mags and Sawyer to meet Morrison and his foster mom. I remember we were walking into the park and I saw a woman and a short black dog. As soon as the dog saw us he "Arooo'ed" at us and I couldn't help but smile.

He was SO excited to be around other dogs. And so good with both Maggie and Sawyer right off the bat. And he cracked me up because he would wag his tail/back end so hard he looked like a black noodle with legs. He was/is just a simple happy go lucky guy.

 

[vanillasugar]

With Sierra it was love at first sight. She came into the store with her foster mom and I knew instantly that she was mine. I don't know what else to say about it, it was that simple and instantaneous

 

[maxfox426]

I saw Morgan's baby picture online on the shelter website, but I actually went to the shelter with the intention of picking out one of his sisters. Thankfully, all but Morgan had already been placed for adoption by the time we got there.

One of his sisters was still in the pen when we arrived, but her paperwork was already taken for adoption. We looked in, moved on, played with several other puppies. For some reason, though, before we left, I decided to go back to Morgan's kennel. We got there right as the shelter staff picked up his last remaining sister to go home for adoption. At the moment that Baby Morgan was all alone, he sat down in the middle of the kennel and cried. It broke my heart! So I opened up his pen to comfort him, and before I knew it, he was in my arms, licking my nose.

And that, as they say, was that.

 

[Xandra]

When I first saw him I couldn't pet him or anything, just caught a glimpse of him.

Then we got all the customs stuff done and I let him out in the parking lot and he came out tail wagging and squirmy and playful. I was happy with him.

Thoughts were something like:
"OMG there's my puppy! OMG OMG this is him!!!"

 

[oakash]

I first met Suzie in the morning in our yard. My mom had found her the other night and brought her in.

My first reaction was, "Man, another dog to not get attached too, because we'll send her off to the shelter."

Then she started playing, and I got attached.....

Luckily my mom and dad decided we could keep her if no one called in.

 

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Chloe was one of those "eyes meet, knew she was the one" kind of dogs. So were all my dogs come to think of it. But she was really special because didn't plan to get another dog. AT ALL. Our friends told us about her, and how they planned to foster her, and I jokingly asked my dad if we could take her home (before we'd ever met her) but I never expected that we actually would. As soon as we met her, I knew I had to have her somehow. I guess everyone else felt the same way, because we really only very briefly talked about keeping her...we just...did. In fact, I was so sure we'd keep her that the day we met her we changed her named from Alex to Chloe. XD I just knew she was supposed to be mine. She really bonded to us immediately, and vise-versa.

Dixie, I saw online, and fell in love immediately. When we went to pick her up, I never even considered changing my mind and getting a different puppy from the litter. I held her for a few seconds, and knew I wanted her to be mine. (Then she peed on me on the way home....)

Lucy was always mine. When she was born, Princess was licking her clean when she started having another puppy. The placenta wasn't completely off of her face/ and she was laying in a puddle of fluids. I cleaned her face, and made sure she was alive, and when I saw that she was breathing, and she started crying, I knew I loved her. It's strange because we never really planned on keeping any of the puppies, but when Princess died, and my dad said we could keep one, I already knew it would be her, even though I told him I didn't want another dog. I just held her, and bottle fed her, and cried, and I had to keep her...

Holly was easy. She was the only grey puppy, and the only one with brown eyes. She was just unique. All the other puppies were black and white with blue eyes. Plus as soon as we walked into the kennel with all of the puppies, she came and tried to rip my jeans. LOL. We even had a chance to change our mind when we came back a few weeks later to pick her up, but she was the one.

Misty's story is kind of funny. We found someone trying to rehome her in the paper (she was already a year old) and we were driving to the guys house and on the way, we saw a man walking a GORGEOUS husky down the road. My dad said "Wow, that is a gorgeous dog. If this dog looks like that dog, we're getting her for sure." It just so happened to be the road that the guy who owned Misty lived on, and when we pulled into the drive way, the guy with the gorgeous husky came walking up to us, and it was him! The dog my dad thought was so pretty was the dog we were coming to see. It was fate, and we took her home.

 

[Sit Stay]

With Dally we didn't really have a choice. She came from a great breeder who had to go to Florida, and left the litter with her best friend/business partner to find homes for. Her best friend was our scummy ex barn owner, who we were no longer on good terms with. My mom's friend picked Dally (who was the nicest of the litter apparently), and asked if we could keep her for a week while he got set up for a puppy. I thought she was ADORABLE (she was one of the cutest puppies I've ever seen), but didn't think we'd end up with her. Yeah, that week passed, and then another, and then by that time we really liked her and he just gave her to us.

We were put on the waitlist for Quinn's litter before they were born, and filled the last spot for a puppy, so we were given pretty much weekly updates by her breeder. Quinn was my second choice, but I really wanted Quinn's sister, who pretty light shaded sable. Breeder said she thought Quinn would be best for us though, because we mentioned we wanted an outgoing dog to travel with, and Quinn was the most outgoing of the litter. When we finally went to meet them at 6 weeks I believe? I was really hoping I'd fall in love with her shaded sable sister and that would be that. However, meeting them didn't help me make my mind up at all. I liked Quinn's outgoing personality but her sister was probably going to be a smaller dog (huge bonus for me), was "softer" and of course she was my favorite color (color's always secondary, but I think we all have our preferences!). Her breeder was great, even performed another puppy test to give us more information, and we exchanged many emails over the two puppies. We finally chose Quinn because her sister was more dominant and the breeder thought she'd be a tougher dog.

I've only had one "love at first sight" experience and that was with my heart dog, Akela. She was a stray we found on our road - my mom went and caught her with some binder twine we had in the van and asked these total strangers to put her in their fenced yard for 5 minutes while she ran me and our JRT back home, just up the road. The were a little hesitant but understanding. I got food and water ready, poor Kaela was just skin and bones, and waited by the window. When I saw my mom pull up I ran outside with the food and she was just so thrilled to see me and bounded over. It really was an instant connection - I'm not sure why but ever since that initial meeting that dog was my shadow and never left my side. We ended up having to rehome her as my JRT was just too aggressive with her, which is the biggest regret of my life. I still cry every time I think of her (right now is no exception) and it's been 4 years.

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

Uhhh, Izzy was fuzzy and squishy and only 5 weeks old so I knew I'd be waiting to pick her or her brother up to come home. I always wanted a male dog but apparently Justin thought Izzy and I got along swimmingly soooo Izzy it was! All I remember was her biting me and me just being ecstatic to be around a bunch of puppies. I was actually a little upset because the little girl I had really wanted (even though she was a girl) got adopted the day before we went to the rescue to look at pups.

Izzy has turned out to be a great dog for us though so Justin made the right choice

 

[Lizmo]

We got to the breeders -first time seeing the pups, only Blaze and one other pup were left- Blaze ran straight toward me and the other pup wiggled from person to person but Blaze went right to me. I had the option of taking the other pup, but I knew Blaze was the right one - he made that clear. Then, as we walked back up to the house from the indoor kennel, I didn't realize Blaze wasn't following and he went and explored the chickens. Should have been a warning sign. hahaha

I really don't remember my first thoughts from Lizzie except I knew I liked that litter. I wanted a female. And I watched a tri one. She was the only female tri of the litter.