Our New Dog Penny

We adopted Penny on Saturday, September 23, 2018.   Here’s the story of how it all happened.  For almost two months before we adopted Penny, Ashley and Emery began to talk about how much they missed have a dog around.  Ashley began weekly and then daily searches on local rescue shelters.

We went from trolling homes on zillow to trolling dogs at the Atlanta Human Society.  We went a few times to different shelters and even went to adoption event.  Nothing really caught our attention and one time a dog was adopted right before we were going to adopt.  99% of the dogs we met were mostly big pit bulls.  Ashley wanted a cute dog and Emery wanted a small dog.  I wanted a dog that was more like a lab and not the fluffy stuffed animal dog.

We happened to find Penny (named Antoinette) on a website at FurKids in Alpharetta a few days before Sep 23rd.  We were really interested but did not act.  There happened to be another dog that Ashley really liked at the Atlanta Humane Society and we there on Friday evening.  It turned out that dog was not available and we saw another dog named Bruce there.  Bruce was really high every but was a good listener and cute although he need a really good grooming.  I was a bit impatient and said we should just get Bruce, but Ashley was convinced we should check out Antoinette at FurKids and if we didn’t like her or she was adopted we would get Bruce on Saturday.

After some thinking, Emery and I agreed.  We were nervous because we both loved how Antoinette looked and were anxious that she would be adopted quickly if we didn’t get there soon enough.

That Saturday morning, we anxiously woke up, ate some food and drove like crazy to FurKids in Alpharetta.  We got there about 10 minutes before it opens 9:50 am and thankfully the shelter people let us in.  They were very nice.  We asked about Antoinette and to our great dismay, the lady at the front said that she was heading to an adoption event already.  We were really disappointed and I think she saw our look and she checked with the people in the back.  Miraculously the Antoinette was not on the bus to the event yet.  She was being walked and she would be back in a few minutes before she was to be boarded.  The lady sent us to wait in the room and said she would stop her from being boarded and bring Antoinette in to see us.  We almost jumped, giddy with joy and anticipation as we waited.

While we sat in the adoption room, we saw through the window outside Antoinette coming back from her walk.  Ashley says that my face lit up like it has never been before.  I must say that the minute I saw Antoinette, I knew she was the dog for us.  The people at the shelter gave Antoinette some great compliments and said how great she was on the leash.  When Antoinette came in the room, she was just a bundle of joy and sweetness.  Emery, Ashley and I instantly bonded with her.  Our minds were made up and Penny was found!

The name Penny was Ashley and Emery jointly.  She was a sandy coppery color and it was such a cute name.

Here’s Penny at the Shelter when we met her for the first time. I️ just love Penny’s natural smile.

<<<<<< Penny at Petco and in our car on the way home! <<<<<< enny in November 2018, groomed and now part of our family

Emery is so strong!

It’s definitely a sign that Emery is growing up when she is able to pick up Pok’e. The other day she called to us to look at her and there she was, A mound of fluffy fur in covering her face as she peered over. Emery was also able to pick up a apply who is about 16lbs and carry him over to couch. She is such a big girl now!

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Photo Shoot in NYC – March 2010

Ray is thoroughly enjoying his new camera.  On a couple of beautiful weekends in March, we went to the Central Park Zoo, Top of the Rock Observation Deck at 30 Rockefeller, Flushing Chinatown and did a little doggie photo shoot at home.

The Central Park Zoo was amazing.  This zoo was right in the middle of the bustling city and yet, it was able to house all these amazing species.

Ray was so excited that he would be taking a bunch of animal pics…

Some of the birds could fly freely in the bird area and flew right passed us.

A family of snow monkeys… this was our favorite attraction.  These monkeys are so playful and agile.

This is probably Papa monkey…

They help clean each other…

A very pregnant me in front of the sea lion performance… whew! The day was pretty warm and we had to keep taking breaks in between the attractions.

Polar bears outdoors just hanging and lounging around. They are so cute.

Beautiful view of this building right across the street from the sea lion display.

Ray didn’t take the beautiful flowers for granted and captured some great pics.

We had another camera with us so I could take pictures of Ray taking pictures of other things.. that was pretty fun, actually.

Here is a view of the city from the Top of the Rock Observation Deck at Rockefeller Center…

This view overlooks Central Park…

Ray chilling and letting me try out the camera….

A view of the Empire State Building from the Top of the Rock.

We stayed there for a couple of hours in order to capture the view as the sun began to set.

A view of the Empire State building and city lights at night…

Our doggie photo at home… this is our favorite recent picture of Pok’e….

Cappy waiting patiently for us to take a GQ pic of him…

Pok’e surrounded by some toys…

Our train ride on the way to Flushing Chinatown.  We love going there but it’s quite a bit of train ride so we don’t go frequently.  Flushing Chinatown has some of the best chinese food.  It’s also the only Chinatown I am aware of where mandarin is the predominant dialect.  Ray loves that he can communicate on his own and not have to ask me to translate.  At this Chinatown, I am reliant on him to help us order food and ask questions.

This is our favorite dish from one of the vendors at the Flushing Mall. It’s a cold, spicy vegetarian noodle dish and it’s less than $5! Only in Chinatown can you get such a great deal on food..

This Flushing Mall is practically carb heaven.  It was hard to find a pure protein dish.

We really enjoyed spending the weekends sightseeing and taking all these pictures.  There’s just so much to do and see in NYC and it’s the perfect place for Ray to make use of his camera.

Pok’e’s 7th Birthday – January 2010

Our little princess, Pok’e, a female shih tzu we adopted from the Boston animal shelter about 6.5 years ago, turned 7 in January! Although we, unfortunately, did not do anything special for her this year (sorry, Pok’e, we promise to make it up to you), she is such a big part of our little family.  She has been sleeping on our bed from day 1 and really livens up our household.  She loves her squeaky toys and treats.  She loves to lounge around and nap but also loves to play fetch whenever we can. She has quite a spunky attitude and character and we just love her for it.

She has this cute little crooked smile….

“Ahh… life is tough”

Surrounded by her favorite toys.  We took her to boarding one day a couple of years ago in Atlanta, and she came home with the froggy that makes noises. We had no idea who that belonged to, but it was obvious it soon became one of her favorite toys. As for the monkey in the back, it had a shirt at one point.  After the first day, Pok’e ripped it off with her crazy fangs…

I took her to the store with me recently and the sales people introduced the squeaky slipper to her.  Right away, she grabbed it with her mouth and salivated all over it.  Trust me, I didn’t want to spend $18 on a dog squeaky toy, but how embarrassing is it if your dog drools all over it and you decide to just put it back on the shelf and say no thank you? So… $18 less in my pocket later… I decided, it’s a one-time deal and she will never step foot into Juicy Couture ever again. At least, not without being in a carrier and have salespeople tempt her into these overpriced toys…

It’s funny how this dog doesn’t even try to distinguish herself from a human being… look at the way she sleeps. When Ray and I leave the bed, the bed suddenly belongs to her.

Halloween October 2009

As much as we wanted to celebrate Halloween and have a crazy night in town in NYC this year, we reluctantly had to pass up on this opportunity because I just found out earlier that month that I was pregnant.  I was told that I had to be extremely careful in the first trimester due to the high risk of miscarriages.  Translation:  Do not go anywhere with large crowds (just one of the many precautions).  Nonetheless, Ray and I didn’t want our precious dogs to lose out on their chance to dress up (like they wanted to… NOT). We couldn’t resist going to the costume store in search of their perfect outfits. We finally decided to go with a classic theme… Star Wars! It’s popular every year and never gets old.  Of course, we still had to find the character that best fits each dog.

For Cappy, he has an old, wise look.  So, without much thought, he naturally would be a suitable Yoda!  For Pok’e, nothing would suit her better than Princess Leia.