New Arrivals

It all started with some dog toys that our foxhound, Larceny, was not interested in. Larceny was raised in a working kennel belonging to the Carrollton Hounds hunt club, and apparently had never learned how to play. Treats, yes; toys, no. Over the years we had accumulated a number of toys that she totally ignores. We thought we would see if the local humane society would accept them as a donation for use in their shelter.


While I was checking out the hours that the humane society was open, I also took a look at the stray and adoptable animals, which I do from time to time. There were three things that caught my interest – a rooster, a goat and yes, a dog, an Australian Cattle Dog mix. The rooster was up for adoption; the goat was a stray and would be coming up for adoption soon. I proposed to Greg that we take a run up to the humane society to donate the toys and check out the rooster and goat, and oh yes, while we’re there we might as well look at this dog. (Some background -- we had an Australian Cattle Dog for many years, who passed away a few years ago. Jacko was an outdoor dog who took his job of guarding the farmyard very seriously. He was definitely Greg’s dog; I could always tell what Greg was doing by looking at Jacko. He would be totally focused on whatever area of the farm Greg was working on. Even though Greg said one dog was all that would fit into our small house, I knew that he missed Jacko.)


So off to the Carroll County Humane Society we go one Saturday morning. We just missed the rooster; he had been adopted out right before we got there. The goat was still there, but one of the staff was thinking about taking her. All that was left was to look at the dogs. Chloe, who turned out to be an Australian Shepherd/Australian Cattle Dog mix, was lying quietly in her pen with her head on her paws. Unlike the other dogs that were barking and bouncing off the walls because of the visitors, no amount of coaxing could get Chloe to stand up and come to the gate. Hmmm, we thought, there must be something wrong with this dog. But the staff assured us she was very lively and loved to play fetch. It was time to get up close and personal.


They brought Chloe to meet us in the "Get to Know You" room. Chloe immediately found a ball and was ready for a game of fetch. She was eager to be petted and played with, and went right over and sat on Greg’s feet. Greg says it was love at first sight. There was just one hurdle; what would Larceny think? So home we go, to get Larceny and bring her to the humane society to meet Chloe. All four of us got together in the "Get to Know You" room, where the dogs pretty much ignored each other. Larceny wanted to eat treats and have everyone pet her, while Chloe just wanted someone to throw her a ball.


We also found out that Chloe had just come in to the shelter the previous day. I must have seen her picture on the web as soon as it was posted. It seemed like fate was at work, so we decided to go for it and brought Chloe home (along with all the toys that brought us to the humane society in the first place)! Chloe is a sweet girl and looooves to play. She also likes to ride in the car (unlike Larceny, who always looks carsick) and has now gone to the hay auction with Greg a couple of times. Although the dogs still pretty much ignore each other (obviously, neither one is an alpha), they get along well. They get walked together, and slurp water side by side from the same bowl after a particularly vigorous outing. Chloe has almost convinced Larceny to play with her, although it’s obvious Larceny has no clue what she is supposed to do.


Oh yes, the humane society called the following Monday and said we could have the goat. So we have added Clover, a little pygmy goat to our menagerie. We’re still working on the rooster.

Kris