Our new girl....

[L Stegall]

After nearly a year (never thought it would be so long after losing our beloved guy, Kosmo), we have a new dog in our lives. We adopted Asta (formerly known as Star) on Friday and I'm happy to report that she seems to be settling in nicely at our house.

As old movie buffs, we always loved The Thin Man movies and Asta was such a great movie dog. Since she's black and white, we thought that was a fitting name for her and, the clincher was the fact that Asta is from the Greek word for Star, so a little nod to her previous name.

She's a Border Collie/Greyhound mix, so we are told, and I can see that, given her build and the dainty way she walks. She's definitely smart and fast and, best of all, has good house manners. She loves a good game of throwing the tennis ball and, unlike Kosmo, can actually have toys that she doesn't dismember in about 2 seconds and, as a nice bonus for me, she doesn't run like hell when she sees me pick up a camera.

Here's a few shots - no formal portraits yet. I do love how she is looking just as intently for the lost tennis ball as my husband is and I think she was the one that found it!

[TXFZ1]

Cool story and dog. What is her age?

David

[mmuhlenkamp]

Aw, it's always nice to bring in a new animal family member. Hope you have many happy years together!

[L Stegall]

Thanks Melissa and David. She's about 2, and we are so very happy she is crate trained and housebroken already!

[BethG]

Looks like you've got the border collie ball obsession thing going! I have two border collies and they have play time every morning at 5:00 a.m before I got to work and again in the evening! They're wonderful, smart dogs but sometimes that ball obsession is hard to handle! You have a wonderful new family edition...enjoy!

[L Stegall]

Beth, YES, she is slightly obsessed with the tennis ball (ironically our dear, departed Aussie mix wouldn't give a tennis ball the time of day). I am meeting a trainer for an hour of one-on-one training time Saturday to make sure I can use that tennis ball as the reason to focus on us rather than other dogs if we venture out to the dog park. She has been great so far. How she came to be at the SPCA in the first place is a mystery and how someone could bring her back in less than 48 hours after adopting her because she seemed 'sad' is beyond me. She is very smart, sweet, well-mannered and very calm in the house. She is not sad at all. Their loss, my gain!

[BethG]

You're right...there's nothing better than a rescue dog! All three of our dogs are rescues. One BC is a rescue from a puppy mill...she was breeding stock. They had even ground her teeth down so she couldn't bite! The other BC was dumped under a bridge with her siblings and my Shih-Tzu was an owner turn in because she didn't want to groom her She had urine burns on her tummy because of the matting and guess what was an inch thick on her backside!

All three dogs are super sweet and with the exception of a few neurotic "issues" we couldn't have asked for better pets!

it won't take your dog long to figure out that the ball dosn't get thrown if she doesn't bring it back! We learned quickly that the balls stay outside or we would never be left alone inside the house!

Enjoy your new furry family member!

Beth

[L Stegall]

Thanks Beth. Thank YOU for rescuing 3 who were really in need (I'm like you, mine have both been rescues and I'll never have a dog that isn't). I cannot believe the cruel things people can do to dogs. Just heartbreaking. Glad yours found a forever home where they are loved and cared for. They are such a pleasure to have around (regardless of their individual quirks). Life without dogs just isn't worth living....in my book at least!