Sage's Musings

December 29th I turned 55. Sage, whose birthday is December sometime shares the same day with me, so we go out, get her a nice biscuit and have a lovely birthday together. This year was different however since we’d just contacted a dog rescue group about a small German Shepherd they have currently in a foster home.

The description was intriguing. “Emily is one of those dogs that we wish she could talk so she could tell us her story. What we do know is she was living with 2 other dogs and a guy in a tent in East TX … they were home-less, and it came to the point where he could no longer care for himself or the dogs.  Fast forward and Emily is thriving in her foster home. She gets along well with the other dogs and cats, she is house-broken, and she learns quickly. She is young and loves being involved in whatever her foster family is doing. She is very sweet and affectionate, so it is easy to see that she was loved. Once again, she is a quick learner so she is learning that when they leave, they will return which is all that matters. Emily’s foster family did her DNA test and she is 100% German Shepherd!”

So, I reached out to the group and asked for a meet and greet which was set for our birthday – we brought the pup home the same day and she’s been a delight to integrate with us.

Naturally, there’s been some transitional issues as expected, but all really minor. There’s no food aggression and only some minor territorial disputes. As the folklore goes, if one goes to prison, beat up someone on your first day (I cannot attest whether that’s true or not) and Emily, now Pepper, asserted herself by trying to claim all cuddles for her. After a couple of days of this, Sage decided to drop the hammer and reasserted herself and since then, it’s been pretty calm.

They respectfully interact and I am sure that in a month, they will be like an old married couple in spite of the obvious age difference. Energy-wise, Pepper is very happy to nap at our feet as we work, nap between us on the sofa or go for long walks. For a two year old dog (Dec 16th, 2020), she’s very calm