Reno, the best dog in town

April 28, 2011

In a previous article I wrote about Toby, our first dog.
After he passed away my wife soon noticed how much I missed having a dog around and after a few months she decided to give me one for my birthday. I protested, not too loudly though.

She found a dog that needed a home, the family who owned it didn’t have the time to take care of it properly. Max seemed to be perfect for us and we happily added him to the family. It didn’t work out though. Max truned out to be wild, unruly and unfit for living in a small place. We had no choice but to give him back.

Then a friend told us that he had seen a dog at the Humane Society that might be the right one. We wasted no time and headed over there, we fell in love with the little guy right away. He was a three year old Beagle and Chihuahua mix and obviously the loving kind. He had been there for almost a month, which surprised us since usually small dogs have no trouble finding a home quickly. We were told that he had a troubled past with small children, may be that’s why people had turned him down.

Since he had been there for 30 days his adoption fee was reduced to just $35, and that included a checkup at the animal hospital, collar, leash and some food.

What a steal and we decided to take him home right way. Someone had given him the rather ridiculous name of ‘Pumpkin’; before we were of the parking lot we had already renamed him ‘Reno’.

After the initial checking out everything in the house he settled down and looked very comfortable in his new surrounding. He had no accidents, his appetite was good and he was pretty quiet, a big plus when you live in an apartment.

He has been with us for almost 2 years now and he is doing just great. He wants all the love and attention he can get without being real demanding. He likes to play for a while and then he just lays down somewhere, minding his own business.

He loves his walks and his weekly visits to the dog park where he can run and socialize with the other dogs. And we still wonder about the trouble she allegedly had with small children, he has been playing with our grand kids and the children in the neighborhood and not once he has shown a sign of aggression.

When my wife returns from work he hears the car stop and he likes to run out there and greet her in the parking lot. A few weeks ago I left the front door open by mistake. Reno slipped out and sat down at the place where my wife usually parks, quietly waiting for her arrival. Now that is love, isn’t it?

Reno is an important member of our family, and while Toby was very much loved and will never be forgotten Reno is now the one that in our humble opinion deserves the title: ‘The best dog in town’.