What was your first impression of your dog?

[Zoom]

The very first picture I saw of Sawyer, I couldn't tell what color he was, or where him and his sister left off and the other took over. It was a really bad picture, lol! I told the ARPH rep "I don't know, I really like this girl in Idaho."

The second picture I saw of him, after ARPH got ahold of him, I took one look at and said "MINE!"

Then I met him and went "Yup, he's my dog." And that was that.

 

[ACooper]

Orson..........only one word comes to mind when I think of what I felt the very first time I laid eyes on him. PITY. He was in a filthy outdoor kennel, swollen belly, 1/2 starved, and barely able to walk. There was no doubt in my mind he was leaving with me.......hell or high waters, he was NOT staying in that situation, tho I didn't consider keeping him myself at the time

Phoebe: The whole family stopped at the humane society 'just to look' We walked up and down the rows of dogs until we got to her cubby. She came forward, sat nicely, and wagged her tail off (sweeping the floor)

I thought "What a nice looking dog, but already grown" (I had a younger dog in mind thinking it would be easier to trust/get used to the kids) We started walking off and she barked at us.........went back in front of her and she got quiet again and sat wagging. Again we started walking away and she barked at us, LOL, we noticed the pattern. The rest is history. She's the best 'kid's dog' EVER and I'm so glad she MADE us give her a second look

 

[RD]

Eve was born across the country, so my first impression of her was only a photograph. She was the flashiest pup in the litter with a lot of white markings. All I knew that I was getting out of that litter was a female puppy, and there were 4 of them. I really, really liked the way the flashy black/white girl looked, but I was determined not to become attached to any of them before I knew which one was mine.

What seemed like ages later, her breeder let me know that the little flashy black/white female was probably what I was looking for - she was responsive and collected and very sweet. I was super happy.

Eve at one day old:

That little white spot on her hip is still there, but is now only a few strands of white hairs.

At about 5 weeks of age, pestering her sister Sky, who also grew up to be a service dog.

 

[RD]

Oh, and the first day I MET her? She wasn't very interested in me. She had her sister to play with! Once we left her breeder's house, on the way to the airport, she just stared at me, trying to figure me out.

 

[jenv101]

There were only three pups left when we went to look at them. Two males & one female. Riley was the least hyper of the three, and he had these big brown puppy eyes that basically just melted me. He still has them. He had been on hold but the people never came back for him, so I said MINE!

 

[skittledoo]

I'll only do my last two dogs since I've had QUITE a few dogs growing up

Cheyanne

My mom was really set on us getting a male dog. She refused to have a female. I remember she dragged us everywhere under the sun to find a puppy. She took us to a lot of pet stores. At the time I didn't know about puppy mills. I was just a kid. We didn't find what we were looking for and my mom had heard of a rescue up in the mountains that had a litter of puppies. Mind you... my mom is the kind of person who doesn't look at the breed characteristics when choosing a dog. We could have ended up with any breed for all she cared. The litter of puppies were australian shepherd/heeler mixes. There were two boys in the litter and one of the ladies that ran the rescue was giving them all baths. I remember the puppy she had in the tub at the time was a little female and I fell in love with her. My mom wanted her brother, but I was determined that I wanted the little female in the tub. As soon as the lady finished toweling her off she came running to me wiggling all over the place wanting to play. It took some convincing, but I finally got my mom to let me get her instead of one of the males. She sat in my lap the whole ride home. I LOVED this dog and I miss her. She died a few months before I got Bamm and she was the reason I picked up an interest in dog agility.

Bamm Bamm
This is one of the first pictures I saw of him

When I first saw Bamm in person we clicked right away. There was something about him that almost reminded me of Cheyanne. It was like when she died she put him into my life to comfort me in a way. I knew he had quite a few behavior problems. I knew he wasn't going to be easy... but something told me I had to take him home with me. He looked right in my eyes and told me we were meant for each other. Regardless of his DR issues, etc... he has been honestly the best dog I've ever had and he will always be a huge part of me even after he's gone.

 

[StillandSilent]

Wow, all or your nice stories make me feel kind of bad about my first meeting with Argon.
I had gotten the call that "Fred", whom I had known as a puppy, was a return with severe shyness/DA issues, and could I just take him for a couple of weeks, and see if his issues could be worked with?
So I drove to the shelter, and there he was, all scrawny and slinky and generally looking terrified. My first words? "Oh, God, Teddi, he's soooooo ugly!"

Yeah. Nice way to greet the dog that's going to go home with you, take one look around and decide he's not leaving after all. First order of business: Name change. Second order of business: Learn to fall in love with the scrawny, slinky, ugly dog. Third order of business: Decide that not only is he not ugly, that whippets are beautiful and my next dog must be one.

It's a funny world.

 

[Zizzy35]

I went to an adoption drive on a random sunday to just look, didn't plan on coming home with one, and definately without telling my husband. We were looking for a Doberman for a while.
There were aisles upon aisles of dogs. I scoured these aisles for hours, reading all their heartbreaking stories.
I saw domino last, I missed him the first couple of times because he was in a small crate.
(he has the white dot on his hip too, and a black on on his neck, I think that's why they gave him that name).

Filled out an application and had my references checked & brought him home. Can't imagine my life without him now.
I get anxious every afternoon and can't wait to get out of work to see him wagging his tail.

 

[Linds]

I am seriously enjoying this thread, love hearing all these stories

Traveler-I thought his nose was pointy Seriously, that was my very first thought when I looked at him through the crate bars at the airport. Honestly he and I did click immediately. I looked at him through the crate and he just started wiggling and putting his paw on the door. As soon as I took him out of the crate after he just got through spending three days in four different airports, he gave me a look of "ok, what are we doing now" I was in love and he was ready to take on the world.

When I first first saw him it was when my breeder emailed me this picture of his litter which consisted of three Guinea Pig looking dogs piled on top of each other.

I saw the one in the middle and thought "That one. I like that one." Then I got to actually reading the email and the one in the middle was my little Traveler.

Kaylee-She stole my heart for god only knows what reason. I was at this store that takes in accidental litters and saw her, her brother and sister and the entire litter drew me in. I left and wasn't back for a couple months but never forgot about them. Then, a couple months later I was back and low and behold there was one puppy left. Five months old, in a bin of 8 week old lab/pit mixes terrorizing her and giving me a look that just spoke to me.

I couldn't leave her no matter how hard I tried. So I bought her. I took in a 5 month old puppy that wouldn't walk on her own, had never been outside, came with a UTI, in the dead of winter and was the single worst, quirkiest, terror of a puppy I or my parents have ever had.

But I would do it again in a heartbeat

Hannah-I thought she was ugly and boring My dad is a mail man and on his route a family had an accidental litter of 11 puppies. It was a very odd litter where half looked like Hannah and all had varying degree's of tails and the other half looked like labs and seemed to be about 2 weeks older. Hannah was the smallest, youngest looking puppy and just kinda slept.

I wanted the out going yellow lab looking dog but there was a huge family drama about that one where the kids wanted to keep her. So, we went with the owners recommendation and my moms gut-which was that Hannah was the one to get.

Turned out she was right and I'm so happy we went with her

 

[puppydog]

Well, with Lilly I knew she was mine and I had to take her home. I felt desperately sorry for her and knew I couldn't leave her at the shelter. It took a good 2 months for us to bond though.

I thought Travis was a bit of an air head douche. Now I know he is but I love him. LOL

With Riley, I went to fetch her at the airport and literally said "welcome home Ben".

 

[*blackrose]

Blackie - technically, I didn't pick him out, buy my parents did. Sort of. It was a "Oh, you're looking for a dog...we'll, here, take this one!" kind of situation. LOL I remember going to see him before we said yes, and my brother and I played with him. We thought he was a blast, because he bowled us over, played tug, played fetch via the tackling method, and was just FUN. I don't know what possessed my parents to say yes, considering he was an adolescent, intact, untrained hyper male Labrador, but I'm sure glad they did.

Rose - I picked her and her brother out of the litter. Rose, because she looked the most like Brownie (aka, she was brindle and not all black like the other pups). I don't really remember thinking much about her personality, she was just freaking adorable. Sam, on the other hand, I picked because he was a wimp and he loved cuddles. He was very subbmissive and very people oriented and he had the CUTEST little brown streak above his muzzle. My parents wouldn't let me keep two puppies (although I tried, I really did), and Rose won out in the end.

Sadie - I didn't pick her out, either, since she was a Leader Dog puppy...but as soon as they brought her out and set her on my lap, I just knew she was going to be special. And she is. We are eagerly awaiting her retirement.

Chloe - After Sadie was returned, I really wanted another dog. I was scoping shelters trying to find a dog both myself and my parents would be pleased with and I had found an adult male Basset in a nearby shelter that I wanted to go look at. The night before we had a bonfire out at a classmates house where there was a litter of puppies around seven or eight weeks old. I told myself I didn't want "a hyper, barky, fuzzball dog"...but Chloe just complete won me over. I remember thinking, "This dog has spunk!" (aka, she was a bitch) and that was it for me. There were seven other puppies there and I didn't even look at them. After much pleading and crying later, I brought her home. ^_^ I still think I may have been better off with that Basset, though. :lol-sign:

I mean, just look at the little sh*t greeting Rose! LOL I should have known then...

And she still has this look down pat - she gives it to you when she is being onrey but doesn't want to get into trouble.

I want another one!

 

[Sit Stay]

RD those baby Eve pictures are TOO cute!! She was definitely one of the cutest puppies I've ever seen.

 

[Dogs6]

Taz was "OMGOMGPUPPIES" and it was a choice between him and his brother. I really wanted his sister but she was spoken for and once he started following me around the breeders garden I knew he was the one.

When I first saw Fudge my first thought was "eww what an ugly puppy." I instantly fell in love with his sister and I was devastated when she was spoken for. After that I didn't really care which one we got but I'm glad my sis chose him!! The last I heard about his sister was a few months ago and she was being rehomed but mum said no

I didn't like or want Scamp but I thought he was "alright for a JRT"

Now of course they're all the most handsome and best dogs in the world :lol-sign:

 

[HayleyMarie]

Teagan- OMG PUPPIES WANT, My first though was how and I going to pick between these two females. They are only 3 months old and do nothing.

I wanted Teagan's sister, but tyler wanted Teagan. Teagans sister was bigger and had the cutest cubby face ever!

Tyler always puts it in my face how he picked the best dog. Which is right. She is perfect in every way

 

[ihartgonzo]

When I met Gonzo I knew he was the one for me. He was so skittish and pathetic, but he just clung to me from the second I saw him... I had no idea how much of a wreck he was. But he was absolutely worth all of the work and he's the best BC I could have ever found! I meet other Border Collies and just think of how they don't compare to Gonzo.

When I met Fozzie, he completely ignored me and squirmed relentlessly trying to escape while we went shopping for his puppy stuff (we adopted him at a Petco). He proceeded to basically act like I was his servant and nothing more for the next 6-ish months! We have an amazing bond now and I trust this dog with anything/anyone, in any situation, any time. He is the definition of faithful.

On the (5 hour) ride home...
"who the f are you and where the f am I?"

"does you have cookies for moi?"

Once at home...
"pfffffft"

 

[Beanie]

I'd been getting pictures from Auggie's breeder the whole time and there was actually a completely different dog I liked. But when we got there to pick out puppies, only Auggie and his brother were unspoken for. I couldn't make up my mind at first and when I left I said probably Auggie. The next day I e-mailed his breeder and said that was the one I wanted, and she asked me if I knew what name I was going to call him, and I said "I'm thinking Auggie." But I wasn't sure if I'd picked the right puppy and I didn't even know if I liked the name.

Well, we kept getting e-mail updates, and in one of them, it went something like "All the puppies went outside to play today. Auggie took a running leap off the top of the deck and skipped the rest of the stairs entirely. Scared me, but he jumped right up and ran off after the other puppies."
THEN I knew I'd picked the right puppy.

When I went to bring him home, I was absolutely smitten. I loved him right away. I remember writing on my blog something like "He's mine and nobody is ever going to take him away. It's as though all were right in the world."

 

[Lolas Dad]

For a few weeks prior to getting Lola I was doing research on the Japanese Chin breed. After doing some research on the breed I was looking at different breeders and found a reputable one about 6 miles from me. She had a litter available but the price was a bit to rich for me. She was a breeder that health test's and does agility with her dogs. I had also asked around about her and she was highly recommended. After a few emails with her back and forth I was given a price that I could not afford so I started looking for a rescue.

When I seen the ad for Lola it did not mention her breed just that she weighed 10 pounds and a year old. In talking to the person on the phone who was fostering her I was telling her I was looking for a Japanese Chin she said when she was a puppy she was told it was a Shih Tzu but when it was growing did not look like a Shih Tzu at all and did not know what breed she was. About a week later Lola was brought to me and I recognized right away that she is in fact a Japanese Chin.

Lola knew she was home when she first arrived, she was walking and looking all around and going into the different rooms. After a period of time she was placed in my arms and she was so relaxed. After the woman and her husband left I was thinking that she might start barking and going nuts but she didn't, at least not then.

The next morning we went out to pet Smart to get her a few things like a bed that she never used. About a day later I had to go to physical therapy for a broken wrist. Not wanting her to have a problem with the cat because they were not introduced yet I put her in the bedroom and closed the door with her water inside. When I returned I could not get the bedroom door open. When I finally did I discovered that Lola had the carpet rolled back from the doorway. I also discovered she had SA.

Fortunately I was able to help her get rid of the SA. We had gone to the woman's house who brought her over here a few times and the last time we were their she had told me "Lola seems to be happier with you than when she was here with me" . I've had Lola for two wonderful years now and looking forward to a lot more years with her.

 

[Dekka]

As Dekka was born here its a bit different...

Her litter name was sausage cause she was the fattest little thing..

This is her suctioned onto my finger with her first introduction to food

But it was this that clinched it when I was trying to decide which pup to keep..

she was always looking up at me like I was the coolest thing around. This pic was taken when we were out on a walk, the other puppies where frolicking, she would frolic briefly and then come back and sit at my feet and stare at me.

How can one not fall in love with that?

 

[PeaceLoveRescue]

I didn't even notice Boone in the shelter his first few weeks as I was always working upstairs with the URI cats. When I started working more in the kennels and clinic area I noticed a teeny, tiny brown thing in the corner of a mobile kennel. I instantly felt bad for him but then I was rather emotional at the time as another dog I had grown very close to that was removed from her useless, wastes of sapce owners who had starved her down to nothing. She was supposed to be a 50- 60lb dog, instead the poor girl who the clinic staff called Black Beauty was a whopping 20lb soaking wet. There was nothing to her, couldn't stand, couldn't walk though by god she tried, she gained weight and did well for a bit and then just went down hill. In the end we finally let her go. I was heartbroken and for whatever reason that liitle brown blob in the corner of a crap filled kennel (my god he was such a messy dog, I dreaded having to clean that kennel) tugged at me.

The cheif vet came by at the moment I was opening his kennel to try and coax him over, he looked so scared. I was barked at to leave "Perry" alone, he was a biter. Me being me scoffed inwardly and after the vet left I proceeded to try and coax him to come to me. He came over, slowly but the next day he was on me like flies to crap. For whatever reason he decided he liked me and no one else. Vets noticed how well he responded, gave little hints or mentioned in passing that I should adopt him. But I told myself I didn't like puppies, they were messy, had to be house trained, and were generally a pain in the arse. I watched as adoption staff would bring family after family back to meet him in the clinic kennels (he was recovering from orthapedic surgery) and watched as how as soon as he laid eyes on them especially those with children in tow he'd scramble to the back of his kennel and start snarling, barking and urinating on himself. When they'd open his kennel to try to pet him, he'd snap at them. The poor mite was terrified, more than terrified. Finally after one of those incidents I went into his kennel to sit and cuddle him, to calm him down like usual and said "well Perrypants I'm pretty sure you've won this round, guess you're coming home with me."

Have had a lot of trouble with the little turd. House training was almost murder, Drifter thought I had brought home this annoying thing as punishment I'm sure though after awhile they did get along, there was the whole ordeal of getting him out of his fear biting, the muzzle, being told off by people on the street for making a 5 month old pup wear a muzzle... but If I had to go back and do it all over again. I would.

Getting a massage on his first night with me from foster kitten Abbott.

His first time at a dog park. That Boxer behind the gate was insane, completely wild and beat the snot out of Boone as well as me and other people/dogs. The owner stood by and did nothing until one of the owners screamed at her when the dog knocked me over and wouldn't get off me. Boone is still afraid of Boxers 2 years old.

His last night with no kennel. I did not enjoy waking up to that plus you can't see all the crap smeared on the floor and wall.

Drifter was clearly saying "mom why did you bring this annoying little snot home, I promise I'll be a good boy if you return him".

His Hannibal days.

Picking blueberries this past summer.

 

[crazy_paws]

For Kya it was a gut reaction. I had to have HER. She reminded me of the childhood dog/sister chihuahua that I grew up with. She's amazing.

With Chloe, I wanted a crested, and I wanted a decent breeder. I met her, and wasn't really enthralled with her. I liked her better than her brother though. She's really grown on me. She's had issues, but she's my little ball of issues. LOL

River, I fell in love with his picture on petfinder.com. He was in a rescue with his mom and 2 brothers. I wasn't planning on another dog, but I emailed. The more I heard, the more I liked. He's been a great little addition.