Bringing Home Hank (Last Weekend, Part 2)

After our Saturday afternoon nap, we got back in the car and went to the San Francisco Airport Cargo pickup to greet and take home our new dog! Here’s the story on our new addition: When I was in Florida visiting family last month, I got an email from my cousin, Kati, saying that she needed to find a new home for her dog, Hank. Kati has a toddler who had startled Hank when she stepped on him and he nipped at her. Kati and her husband decided it would be best to find Hank a new home in case it would happen again. I knew this had to be heartbreaking for her, as I’m positive she had an incredible love for him. We had often sent each other emails talking and asking questions about one another’s dogs. Both Hazel (our dog) and Hank (her dog) are miniature dachshunds so it was great to have each other to share our similar experiences.  

I spoke with Andrew and we decided to offer to take Hank, knowing we could provide a good home and believing it would be comforting to my cousin to be able to get updates on the little guy. So we offered and soon we were scheduling a flight from Indiana to California to show Hank his new home. 

Waiting at the Delta Cargo hold for Hank to arrive.

Seeing Hank for the 1st time.

 

Andrew excited to have another man in the house.

Last leg of the journey!

First, we had Hank visit the backyard. Then we let Hank explore downstairs before he settled into one of chairs and took a nap.

That evening we kept Hazel upstairs while we watched a movie with Hank downstairs. We wanted to keep them separated and have Hank get used to us before meeting Hazel. We thought the long flight, new parents, a new home, and a new sister would be way too much for him all in one day.

 After church and grocery shopping the next day, it was time to introduce the two dogs. We had read quite a bit about integrating dogs in the same home, and chose to have the two meet in the park by our house. We were sure that if we brought Hazel into “her space” she would get territorial and defensive. Andrew walked Hank to the park a few minutes before I left the house with Hazel. When I got to the park, I had Hazel walk alongside Hank. Andrew and I had prepared for them to at least have a little scuffle, but they pretty much minded their own business as they kept on walking! They stopped just a couple times to sniff each other, then carried on.

We walked back to the house where we stayed in the back yard for a bit (we thought getting closer to the house with Hank would make Hazel anxious, but no problem here, either). Then we all went in the house. And I’m so happy to say that there have only been a couple small tiffs between the two. We'll be back in the coming weeks with updates on how the family is adjusting with our new addition!