Thursday, June 5, 2014

Change of Plans and Life is Happening.

1:58 AM    No comments

This is partially taken from my entry on Tumblr but since I can do more on this blog than on Tumblr, I'll be able to show what happened more descriptively. I also love Twitter and I think this is so cool to incorporate my tweets into my entry (lol).

Sooooooooooo if you've known me for quite a while, then you know how long I’ve been wanting to get a dog and I had my eyes set on a Samoyed. I was in talks with a breeder around March and it turned out that the odds weren’t in my favor. Most recently, I stated this in a YouTube video. I wasn’t updated with an email and found out the pup went to someone else via the breeder’s website. I was just going to wait for the next litter (which she previously informed me would be next year and I replied saying that I’d be willing to wait) and my mindset after finding out was just to wait and keep checking up on the other breeders I’ve bookmarked and the American Kennel Club website. This was early last month.

Last week, I was on my way to the park one night to go on my usual run and I saw a black dog run across the street, so I minded my own business and just kept walking. The dog suddenly popped up right beside me, stared at me with its mouth open, tail wagging, and the expression “HUMAN!! PLAY WITH MEEE!!”. It was kind of scary because it was around 9pm and the dog was a frickin’ big black Labrador but I just did some grabby hand motions and let it smell my arm and proceeded to continue my walk to the park. I was pretty sure I knew which house it came from and hoped it’d just stay within the general radius of the home, BUT it followed me. It was like a shadow blob kept zooming in front of me and I practically walked it without a leash for three blocks before someone else came towards me with a baby stroller and a guitar strapped across his chest. I made this ugly “he’s not mine face” and I guess he took him.
I didn’t turn around to really see what happened because I was so selfishly relieved that I could go run without worrying that other people would think it was mine. Afterwards, I felt pretty guilty about not taking it in and how I could’ve possibly returned it or adopting it as my own after having it checked for a microchip at a nearby humane society, so I was curious to see whether or not Labrador pups were abundant compared to Samoyeds and I could possibly do right by just raising one instead of a Samoyed.



That black lab could’ve well been hostile and mopey to me because if it was really the dog I think it was, the owners just have it locked outside in the backyard and it always looked neglected and tired. It was so friendly and frickin’ walked with me without a leash. It didn’t bark at me. It even stopped at crossings with me and it didn’t even know me. Needless to say, that breed is the spitting image of the ideal service dog in the US, so I have no real gripes about them. They aren’t as pretty and cute as a Samoyed, but they’re just as good people dogs. They were up there on my list of alternative breeds to get and were also WAYYY cheaper in comparison.

So on Sunday, I found two breeders on the American Kennel Club site with Labrador pups listed for under a grand which were born last month (meaning they’d be ready to go home in July because 4 weeks had already passed). One breeder even listed his litter within the price range of an iPad. I got a quicker response from the more expensive one though. In the email, I basically asked whether she still had some puppies available and that I didn’t really care what color it was because it’s not like I wanted a show dog. She replied saying she had two yellow pups (a boy and a girl) and one female chocolate left. She priced the female ones a bit more so I asked that if it wasn’t too late, that I’d like to reserve the yellow boy lab. This was after I consulted with my friend about which breeder to buy from and agreeing that the more expensive breeder would more likely have raised the babies better, on top of the vet health check and first vaccination shots. I got an email from the $400 range Lab breeder yesterday morning, but I’m pretty sure I’m just going to decline. The price difference is worth it (or so I’d like to believe).

I have an invoice for the reservation deposit which I just paid, some photos of the pup, and a million thoughts are going through my mind. It’s one of those moments where you’re taking a huge step ahead but you could very well just say “no” go back to the life you were use to. Now it's like...“OMG, now i have these things to buy and appointments to make for future vaccinations. When should he get neutered? etc. etc.” So much to think about.
I think if this incident had never happened and I still couldn’t get a Samoyed a year from now, I may have very well just settled with an Australian Shepherd. The merle ones are so pretty but I’m scared that they’d be TOO active for me to handle. I’m also scared it might herd my little cousins or something. Labs, on the other hand, seem more gentle. Also with a Lab, less brushing is required…so I guess it’s meant to be.

Ugh, my brain!!
As far as naming him goes, I'm most likely going to name him "Triton" which is kind of nerdy but has that zing to it. Like "Titus", he also has comic book origins but no real reference to any literary figures like Shakespeare. Titus wouldn't be fitting because Labs aren't vicious and are so noble. I guess, I should start with where the inspiration came from. I've been reading the The New 52 Aquaman series which is a reboot of his origins and etc. I'm actually almost caught up to the most recent issue. I'm not a HUGE DC fan or anything but I've become really fond of the Arthur Curry in this reboot. I really like how he's drawn and he's become my DC equivalent to Steve Rogers (and if you follow me on Tumblr, then you know how much I love him and the actor who plays him). Arthur is such a good guy who feels like he doesn't belong in the world. His mother (who was queen of Atlantis) died and was never able to care for Arthur because she thought he'd be safer on the surface with his human father. His father dies in his teens from a heart attack and Arthur had no real reason to stay on land because he was alienated by the people of Maine who were skeptical of him being half Atlantean. His love, Mera, was also exiled by her own people of Xebel when she found that Arthur was not out to destroy her colony after spying on him, so they only have each other. GAWD!! I could go on and on, but their love for each other, their sense of compassion and justice, and how they found their own place on the surface and in the sea really hits me hard.


Triton started from issue #27. It's actually sort of a bad thing, but it's an underwater base created by the human civilization after having been attacked by Atlanteans. The war was started with a random torpedo launch and Triton base seems to be the center for a new enemy in the coming months. This goes beyond the name though. Triton is the son of Poseidon and known as the messenger of the seas. I actually thought there was a weapon called a Triton too, but that doesn't seem to be the case. If it were true, then he'd be a protector and a messenger. The name would be my nod to Aquaman without blatantly naming him Arthur...or Salty (their adopted dog).
I don't know The Little Mermaid by heart, so I didn't know that Ariel's dad was named King Triton too! Coincidentally, Labradors have webbed paws which helps them swim, so they love water. I guess that means bathing them wouldn't be a problem either. It's a perfect name, right??? Cute form would be pronounced "tri-tea" and that has a ring to it also! If I had a female pup, I wouldn't know where to start. I wouldn't want to name her Mera but I would probably find something that fits too. I don't know -shrugs-.

Now, I basically have a contract to fill out and need to get the rest of the money put aside for pickup day. I also need to get him a collar, name tag, and some toys (especially chew toys to keep him from chewing up shoes and furniture). My baby will be coming home on the 13th of July!!! THIS IS CRAZY!!! 
-Peter

OH! Unless it was a different black lab, I saw him tonight on my way to the park behind the fence, so he's home. (Or not, and it very well could've been a different dog but I'd like to think that he did find home!)
Here's a Dogs 101 video on Labs if anyone else is interested in them. 

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