When our last dog passed away, we lasted a whole ten days before we needed to get another. Well, Logan and I did, Mike was indifferent. So, off we went to the shelter early on a Saturday morning. I had several puppies picked out that I wanted to see, but none of them were still available. I’d been leaning a lot towards shepherd or hound mixes, so we met with a couple of those, but none of them were right.
We must have walked around that shelter ten times, and I kept going back to one cage. A tiny little puppy, who was marked as a pit bull mix at eight weeks old, curled up on a blanket in the back of the cage. Her name was Pumpkin, which I knew would never work. It was October, and they were doing fall-like names for all their intakes.
Within a few minutes, we knew she belonged with us.
We brought her home, of course. She slept on my chest for almost the entire drive. Then peed in the backseat as we pulled into the driveway.
We easily went through 20 names, and it took us a few hours to come up with Journey. Some people have asked, why Journey? We do like that 80s-era Journey music, so did that play a part? I’m not sure why, but the name just fits.
It was never really in our thoughts that we’d bring home a pit bull mix, but it didn’t bother us. We have always believed that dangerous dogs aren’t born, they’re made. And, it’s okay if you disagree with us. I’m not here to debate.
We had a bit of a rough time in the first couple of weeks. She ended up with kennel cough, which is very common for dogs coming out of a shelter environment. We also had a go around with an upset belly and diarrhea, caused by eating things she shouldn’t. It had been 14 years since we’d had a puppy, who knew she’d like acorns and rabbit poop? A bland diet is really helpful here: plain cooked chicken, white rice, and pumpkin purée were what got us through the issues, then slowly introducing the kibble diet again. And, I’m also not debating that. I’m way too lazy to make a raw food diet.
I recommend having a veterinarian in mind before bringing home a new puppy. We were lucky that we already had one, but even for the upset belly issue, we ended up at the urgent care vet because ours couldn’t get her in quickly enough. Know where you’re going so you don’t freak out when you need it! Once we were able to get through the first few weeks, and as soon as she finished her puppy vaccine sequence around the three-month mark, we started socializing and training her.
I’m going to call out one of our favorite trainers here, Amanda with AB Dog Training. She runs a program called “Puppy Playtime”, where you bring your puppy (under six months) and let them play with other puppies. This was great for socializing Journey. Even though she’s aged out, sometimes I just want to go back and watch! It is so much fun watching puppies make friends! And, fall all over themselves and each other. It was always the best hour of the week. AB Dog Training has earned several awards in the Akron, Ohio area, so if you’re local, check them out!
We were also lucky that our vet included a DNA test. A quick little swab on the inside of her mouth and about six weeks later, we had results. So … many … results …
It’s really kind of insane:
- 32% American Pit Bull Terrier
- 8% American Staffordshire Terrier
- 7% Chow Chow
- 6% Labrador Retriever
- 5% Boxer
- 5% German Shepherd Dog
- 4% Chihuahua
- 4% Pug
- 3% Akita
- 3% American Bulldog
- 3% American Cocker Spaniel
- 3% Bulldog
- 3% Norwegian Elkhound
- 3% Siberian Husky
- 2% Beagle
- 2% Collie
- 2% Golden Retriever
- 1% Bloodhound
- 1% Chinese Shar-Pei
- 1% Doberman Pinscher
- 1% English Springer Spaniel
- 1% Weimaraner
She’s a little bit of everything and a whole lot of sass. That’s our Journey.
asjourneysgo.com 