A Pup Appreciation Post

     Ok, so if you've been paying attention to the ol' Instagram you have noticed that I have a new family member. Now, his given name is Pongo, and that is going to stick, kind of. I've gone through the process of giving him a nickname which has now evolved into well, the name that he now responds to. He started out as Pongo, aka The Chonkster, but that has turned into The Chonk, which is also Chonky Boy, and Chonka Chonk. Any name he goes by he is full of love and sweetness so this is going to mostly be a pup appreciation post. 

     This was the first picture I posted, so why not just go in order of what I took. I do have a few more pictures than I shared, so I'll share them all here. Now, before we get into all of those let's get to the tale of how he met Morty and Ri Ri, cause it is quite the tale.

     As you may remember from last week, I mentioned that I had an appointment for them to meet The Chonk on Monday. I made it to the appointment on time, but shenanigans ensued. When I arrived there were two people in front of me, so I knew this was going to be a process and maybe not the easiest. While I was standing with them patiently and they were being good. Two ladies came in with a cat, in a crate. Ri Ri does not like cats, and she started going a bit crazy. I immediately took them into the small merch room off to the side and they began to calm down, but then disaster struck. A whole classroom worth of kids came out of a room within sight of Morty, and he got excited because those were a whole bunch of people that he could meet. This as well as a lot of people got Ri Ri very anxious and she began barking and wanting to go after them. I couldn't leave because the women with the car were blocking the door, leaving me and the pups trapped. An employee finally came out to try and find out what everyone needed and I told them I had an appointment to meet Pongo, then I couldn't wait any more and made a dash for the door hoping that Ri Ri wouldn't catch sight of the cat as we zoomed by. Once outside I thought they would calm down, but then 2 more people started walking up and Morty somehow slipped out of his collar. This began a new comedy of errors and Morty was off. I started running after him and fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it. The employee that was going to do the meet and greet was out with another dog and Morty made a mad dash for him. He was not happy about it and the employee got a little tangled up in his leash as he tried to go after Morty. This however gave me the chance to catch up and grab Morty by the scruff. I locked my grip in and held him as I wrangled Ri Ri away from the dog and the people and just held them still until everyone would go away. It took a couple of minutes but everyone finally left and I could slip the collar over Morty's head. I then walked with them along parking lot away from all the people and they finally began to calm down again. That's when another employee came out and told me that since everyone was riled up that I should just take them home to decompress and bring them back the next day. They would hold Pongo for one more day so we could try again. I knew this was the best course of action but was still a little disappointed. 

     The next day came and I left the pups in the car as I went to check in and then got back outside to get them out of the car but walking around the parking lot. After a short while the employee that was doing the meet and greet and one more came out to take Morty and Ri Ri around the back instead of through the building. The first one helped me meet Ri Ri so she knew that Ri Ri could be a bit of a brat and very selective, but what she didn't plan on was Ri Ri going after her since she knew her. The other employee took Morty who was very Morty like and was happy to hang out with a new person. The first one gave Ri Ri a steady diet of treats and after a slow but productive process, Ri Ri starting becoming the good girl that I knew she could be. She relaxed and stopped that old tendency of going after people and just hung out. Once everyone was calm the took Ri Ri into a different pen that was off to the side but still within sight of Morty and myself and they let Pongo come in. Morty and Pongo hit if off immediately. Then Pongo went over to the fence and Ri Ri charged up to it as well. I told the woman I was standing next to that despite how it looked, that was a good reaction from Ri Ri, and then she began to notice that Ri Ri had a happy tail, so she got Ri Ri and kept her on the leash as she guided her in to meet Pongo as well. It went very much the way it went when she first met Morty. They checked each other out, Ri Ri played a little and then got bored and laid down. Morty and Pongo played around a bit more and then I finally got my chance to really meet Pongo since he was distracted by the approaching storm when I met him. He came right up to him and since I'm an idiot and squatted down to his level, he charged and tackled me. Mind you Pongo is 84 lbs, and despite what I thought he is the exact same height as Morty, so he is a big boy. I started laughing hysterically as the employees all freaked out. Pongo was jut having fun and getting face kisses. I told them that if it wasn't sealed before it was after that, Pongo was going with me.

     They suggested that I take Morty and Ri Ri back home first and then come back to take Pongo, which I felt was a good idea, I have no idea how with them all being knew that I could get them in the car together, now after a few days, I have no worries about that. That picture above was right after I got Pongo in the car. They did warn me that I should keep them separate when I wasn't there, which was the plan, but you know how plans go, but I'll get to that in a bit. First a few more pictures. This is the second picture I posted and it kind of shows how great the pups got along right off the bat.

     This next one is either one that I posted or the one that I took at the same time, but this is about the time Pongo started becoming The Chonk.

     Despite his size, he is quite adorable. Oh, I should mention that they didn't know much about The Chonk since he was a stray from Miami. They do transfers from time to time to find homes for pups that tend to stay in the shelters for a while. Morty was a transfer from Lakeland. He did have some fatty masses removed but they were benign. He also had a testicular mass removed, but they didn't test it, but they are assuming that it was a lipoma as well. Other than that he is super health, although he does have some bowel issues that he is taking some medication for, but since I got him home and started feeding him what I feed Morty and Ri Ri, he hasn't had any problems. I'm going to stick with the medication though until it runs out. How about another pic? 

     Don't worry I only have a few more. I had the rest of Tuesday and all of Wednesday to get to know The Chonk and get him to know Morty and Ri Ri. They really did hit it off immediately. He also gave Ri Ri a dose of her own medicine. One of the things she likes doing is when Morty is sitting on the floor next to my chair, she will come up and just start licking him in the face. Well, The Chonk was sitting where Morty usually does and Ri Ri came up to give it a go, and The Chonk beat her to it and licked her in the face. It threw her for a loop which was pretty funny. Ri Ri has had some moments, which is funny because they all thought that Morty and The Chonk would have a go, but The Chonk acknowledged Morty as the top dog really fast. Funny story about that. The first night Morty went into my room to lay on the bed in the evening, and The Chonk decided that was his chance to lay in a Morty's bed, which in reality, because of Ri Ri, is more of a community bed although it is officially Morty's bed. Anyway, The Chonk moved comically slowly as he would go from looking at the bed to the hallway where he knew Morty was. It took him about a full 10 seconds to move 3 feet. I could not stop laughing. Morty came out and as I suspected didn't care, but then The Chonk got up cause he wanted to hang with his big brother. Oh yeah, back to Ri Ri being a butt. She has had some growly moments, mostly at night when she is in the bed. Her and Morty get in the bed with me, and either The Chonk can't or just won't get up there, he will however lay in the doorway to be a part of everything. Ri Ri will then stand over him and growl at him. I've had to scold her a bit for this and in the last day she has gotten a bit better. She also had a moment outside where she went after The Chonk and he just kind of stared at her. With that being the case, when it was time for me to go to work on Thursday, I decided against locking The Chonk up in a room and just chanced it, and it went exactly like I thought it would. Ri Ri went and slept in my bed and Morty and The Chonk slept in the living room. They already love each other.

     Ok, this was something that got me a little, because the way The Chonk lays is exactly how Baby Girl used to lay. I call it the seal spread.

     It warmed my heart to have another dog do that. These pups bring so much joy to my life. So this is the part where I tell you that if you want a bet, go to your local adoption center whatever it is, and take a look at all the animals that are there. If your's is as great as the one I go to, they will fit you with the perfect pet. This of course was me picking The Chonk, but he also had to pick me and the rest of my pack, which I am so glad that he did. Oh before I share the final photo I have of The Chonkster, I'm working on getting him a Goonies collar. Morty of course has the Grogu collar, and Ri Ri as the David Bowie Space Oddity, so when I was thinking of what collar would be a good fit for The Chonk I immediately thought of the Goonies, so I began looking to see if they have any. I found a few but the one I think I'll be going with is on Amazon. It is black and white with "Goonies never say die" written all over it, and they over embroidering a name on it, so of course I'm going to get "Chonk" done on it in yellow letters. If you have no idea why Chonk is not only a nod to the movie, but the perfect name to have on it, then we really just can't be friends, and before you try to correct me I know Chonk isn't the exact name. Ok, final picture for this post anyway. 

     Ok before I go just a few things. I'm sure you all know about the SCOTUS decision which is a complete travesty. I won't really get into it here, but I've said this before. If you need an abortion and you need a safe escort, I am here for you. I will aid and abet abortions. I posted that to Instagram as well yesterday which is why this week was another Saturday vinyl. I just didn't want to put the vinyl up at the same time as that for the feeling that it would diminish the point I was trying to make. There is going to be a long fight ahead, and I'm up for the challenge. This is truly a disgrace and a decision put in place that is tone deaf to the majority of the country and their feelings on abortions. I will not tell you who to vote for, but I will tell you to register and then vote in every and all elections. That means even the small local ones. They are even more important than the national ones. One last thing, 4 justices perjured themselves in front of congress and deserve the consequences of their actions. Peace in and goodnight.