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MELODY
Reprinted from The Homer Horizon December 14, 2006
Staff Writer
What a great day today has been! We got a new puppy! Back in June it was a very sad day when we lost our dog Bailey. She was the best dog ever and I miss her every day. There have been so many things that make me think of her.
The memories are all happy, but sometimes they make me sad.
After almost six months, my mom, dad and I all started to feel that the time was right to get a new dog. We looked at the puppies at Alsip Home & Nursery, Happiness is Pets, and online at T.L.C. (Tender Loving Care) Animal Shelter in Homer Glen and P.A.W.S. (Pets are Worth Saving) in Chicago.
Yesterday my mom and I went after school to check out the puppies at T.L.C. We found a puppy we had seen online. She's an 11-week-old beagle/golden retriever mix. We loved her right away. We took her in a room and she seemed to love us, too. She had two brothers and one sister. Her sister was adopted yesterday, one day after they arrived at T.L.C.
We wanted my dad to see her.
Since it was almost closing time for T.L.C., we asked if we could put a hold on her. They were going to open at 11 the next morning (today) and they said they would hold her until 11:30.
My dad left work before 11 and met my mom at T.L.C. about 11:15.
There was another family asking about her when they got there, but the man said she was being held until 11:30. It's a good thing my mom and dad got there on time. My dad loved her right away, too. After a few minutes in the little room with her, the decision to get her was made. They wanted to leave her there until after school so I could go with them to pick her up, but they were told they would have to take her right away.
I got home from school at about 2:30. I walked in and my mom asked me how my day was. I said, "Okay . . . what happened?" She said, "With what?" I said, "With the puppy." She looked at me with astonishment and said, "Oh no, I forgot."
Right then, I heard the jingling of a dog tag. My dad had been holding her in the family room and he let her go so she could run to see me.
She is so cute. She's fawn with a little white line up between her eyes, white feet, and white on the tip of her tail. She comes up to my knees. The man at T.L.C. said she will probably be about 60 pounds when she's full grown.
So far our cat Sophie hasn't come out from under the bed, but I'm sure they will be friends soon. They are both so sweet.
When we were trying to think of names, we were talking about movie or TV characters that we like. My mom suggested Melanie from "Gone With the Wind." That made me think of Melody. It's a pretty name and since my whole family loves music, we thought it would be perfect. Melody is our puppy's name.
Melody is sleeping now after a very exciting day in her life. It has also been an exciting day for me and my mom and dad.
Melody Update
Reprinted from The Homer Horizon December 21, 2006
Staff Writer
Last week I wrote about our new puppy, Melody. We have had her a week now and she is great! She acts like she’s been here forever.
We took her to the vet for her first check-up. The vet said he sees the beagle in her, but not much golden retriever. She weighs 21.3 pounds now and he thinks she will weigh about 40 pounds when she is full-grown. That’s about 20 pounds less than people at T.L.C. predicted. We are happy that she will probably weigh less, but won’t mind either way. The vet also estimates that she is about four months old, which is a month older than we were told. Sophie, our cat, came out from under the bed where she hid for the first day. They come within a foot of each other now before Sophie groans at Melody. They are both scared and curious of each other. I know they will be friends. Melody is doing very well with “potty training”. She is catching on quickly. She is smart and cute.
Melody loves to play and she also loves to snuggle. She sleeps on the floor at the foot of my mom and dad’s bed. It was her choice from the first night. She sleeps though the night and wakes up when we wake up. She is a very special dog and we all love her. She is a part of our family.