Introduction

Have yall met Mamie? No? You should meet Mamie. She's our new dog. Specifically, she's Sam's new dog. She was my new foster til Sam told me that she was his new dog (about 12 hours in) SO, now she's our new dog.

What happened was:  I was at the shelter picking up another dog. (I feel like this is how every dog hoarding story you see on Animal Planet probably begins), but I was at the shelter picking up this other dog who was in the small dog cages. If you've never been to the Austin Animal Center (which is very nice, by the way and whose staff and volunteers do a kick ass job),  there are buildings for big dogs, cats, a little section for rabbits and then these built in little units for small dogs with two rows. The dog I was picking up was on the bottom row. Mamie was on the top. I noticed her because she kept trying to throw herself onto the bars and trying to kiss me. This is a photo of our first meeting, it's blurry because she wouldn't stop moving. 

So, I took her out for just a little walkie so she could get a break from the cage and the volunteer who was working there trying to walk all the little dogs would have one less to worry about. This was my fatal mistake. Because she gave me this face.   

And so I asked her if she could maybe make a little effort to look

like a cocker spaniel so I could take her home with me and she gave me this face.

And I was like, "Good enough. Let's go home." 

Once we got home, I had to explain to Sam  how I had gone to pick up one dog and came home with two, but apparently, Mamie and Sam stayed up late together that first night chatting and watching cooking shows and he told me the next day that he thought we should keep her. I mean, it's not like you can resist this. 

The questions people seem to ask the most are:  What is she?  (no clue, but I did just order a DNA test kit. I have a theory..) 

Also, how old is she?  She's five. We think. She was actually in the shelter earlier in the year and was adopted and was "guesstimated" to be five then. So, give or take? She's certainly not a puppy, though I wouldn't blame you for thinking that. 

People also want to know how big she is-- well, she was listed in her paperwork as "overweight" at 13lbs. I don't know that she was so much overweight as she is "built like a small keg with fur."  She has no neck to speak of. She did lose a bit of weight when she had the major barf/poosplosion event the week before Easter, so at her last vet visit, she was around 11.5lbs. 

Personality wise--well, she's a mutt of indeterminate origin who loves to eat

and let it all hang out at the beach. In other words, she fits right in. 

We really really like her.