Muffin- 1 year Later

This is Muffin's official introduction.  This blog is still 3 Dog Days, but I've had 4 dogs for over a year now.  However, I always say Muffin doesn't count since he is small and old and doesn't do anything.

I went to the same adoption even I got Bunny at last year.  It is at the La Brea Tar Pits.

I didn't find any small, old dogs to adopt at the event.  They only brought small, young dogs.  But I was not to be put off that easily.  I got on my tablet and looked at the Los Angeles shelters to see what they had.

I found this picture:

It said his name was Wolfie and he was 11 years old.  The shelter staff had added a note that he was very friendly and someone should adopt him.

I went to see him and a young shelter volunteer went to leash him up.  He crawled under his little raised bed and wouldn't come out.  Then he started making a horrible noise that scared off the volunteer.  She went to get a more experienced person to help.  As it turns out, the noise was reverse sneezing/ chocking, but with all the yapping of the other dogs, it was hard to tell what kind of a noise it was.

When she brought him out, I wasn't sure if it was the same dog as in the picture.  In the picture he was cute.  In real life he was nasty and ugly.  Yuck.  We took him outside and I noticed his ears.  I was afraid they were filled with tumors or warts.  Vomit.  I also couldn't tell if he had a huge tumor on his tummy or if he was just super fat.  I pointed out his ears to the volunteer and she whisked him off to the vet.  The vet cleaned and shaved his ears and it turned out they were "only" infected and that was infection and gunk I was seeing, not warts.  Phew!

When they finally brought him back out they said he still had to be neutered so I couldn't take him home then.  That put a cramp in my plan, because I didn't want to have to drive back to LA.  I tried to decide if I would still take him or not.  Somewhat reluctantly, I decided I would.  Unlike adorable Blossom, I didn't feel a connection with this dog, nor was he very cute.  Actually, as I said, he was gross and smelly.  When I said I'd take him, they took him away then brought him back and it turned out he was neutered.  You'd think with a male dog it would be easier to tell.

So I loaded him up and headed home.  He was nice and quiet in the crate- always a good thing.  The shelter had told me he was an owner turn in who lived his whole life outside, but that was all I knew.  Actually, I did know he didn't respond to his name.

Muffin was actually named by my Mom who saw him before I shaved him.  She said, "Now who is this ragamuffin?"  He was definitely a ragamuffin, but once shaved, he was only a Muffin!

Before his shave.

Yucky mats.

After!  I never claimed to be a pro.

Much cuter.

Of course he was not housebroken, but I eventually fixed that.  He is everything I want in a small, old dog.  He loves to sit on the couch with me- in fact, he is a true lap dog and wants to be ON me.  He doesn't need to be walked, he eats hardly anything, and I don't have to train him.  He comes when called and responds very well to his new name.  He gets along with the other dogs fine, and is actually very healthy.  Yes, he was gross in the shelter, and I almost didn't take him, but of course now I am glad I did! 

These pictures are from an early bath.  He was quite cute rolling around in the towel afterwards.

I got Muffin at the end of April 2012, so I've had him just over a year now.  And now he is 12!

Muffin is a good boy and old dogs make such great pets.  And they deserve a home for their last years.