First is Olivia Siobahn (thanks, L7, for giving me the idea for her name!), a little white kitty who arrived just as we were packing up the moving boxes. She was a darling, adorable little kitten, and when I realized she was also deaf, I thought that her being let outside meant it was only a matter of time before she was hit by a car, so we kept her. Now, I know the people who she belonged to -- farmers down the road from us that sort of let their cats and dogs breed like mad -- so I knew she wouldn't really be missed. So she came with us, and she's made a great playmate for Kiki.
Then, a couple of weeks later, we went to visit our friends (who, as coincidence would have it, also moved into a new home, though they are buying theirs and we're just renting 'cause we're getting the heck out of Costa Rica in the next couple of years, but I guess they intend to stay). I saw that their little old dog was in a pen in the back, and my friend proceeded to tell me about the dog biting their 1-1/2-year -old and her husband being so angry he was ready to put the dog to sleep. She (our friend) seemed sort of stuck in the middle, and I offered to take Tiny (what's one more dog at this point?, I figured). By the end of the night, we'd made arrangements to have Tiny come live with us, and it's true she doesn't like kids in her face (she's already nipped at our son a couple of times), but I suppose since he's a year older he is better able to understand that he needs to stay away from her more than the baby. She's really sweet, and reminds me of my little Chihuahua Mable, albeit with long hair.
The house we moved into "came" with two dogs, a mutt named Mun(y)eca and a Rottweiler named Alaska. The landlords were either going to take them to the shelter or they could stay here, so, HEY! surprise, surprise -- they stayed here. They (the landlords) have said that if someone wants to take them, they can. So if anyone out there wants one or two lovely dogs, let me know. The Rotti, in particular, is fantastic with kids, a great watchdog, sweet as can be (think Good Dog Carla), happy to see you when you get home without getting overly excited, etc. I wish I could trade her for Numi, who has, since we moved in here, killed both of my rabbits (Mariah and Hunny Bunny).
I'm starting to feel like we're running an animal shelter here. This now makes 10 dogs and 4 cats. I never in my wildest dream thought I'd have 10 dogs (ok, two are not really ours, but for all intents and purposes, they might as well be). Who wakes up one day and says, Gee, I think I'd like to have 10 dogs? No one in their right mind! Of course, it's easier to end up with 10 dogs here than in the U.S., as there are so, so many stray animals on the streets it can be overwhelming. Oh well, you do what you can, right?
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