They thankfully had availability, so we headed out to visit and check out the digs. It is owned and operated by a couple who bought a house and renovated it with the intention of only dogs living there. They removed all of the doors and put up 5 foot gates in the door frames instead. They also have a deck, screened-in porch and a huge fenced in yard. They sparsely furnished it with old sofas, futons and doggie beds...a palace for most dogs! Anyway, Spence was anxious to check out the new place, but he never went further than a few feet from his mama. Steve has always teased me about having such a whimpy dog, and he proved that on Monday. He wouldn't go to either of the owners and then whined when I left him.
They told me that I had to bring him back for doggie daycare before we could leave him so they could build rapport with him. We kept our fingers crossed, and dropped him off Friday morning for this new adventure. You see, I have NEVER kenneled Spencer before! He has always been fortunate enough to stay at home with someone he felt comfortable with when we left. So, this was a little scary for him, and me.
He started off poorly. In fact, as I was walking out the door, Russell (one of the owners) grabbed Spence by the collar to hold onto him. All four of his legs were going so he could follow me, but Russell had a good hold, so he just stayed in place and "treaded." It was pretty pathetic. However, after some time went by, he adjusted and even played with a new friend. Jake, the owner's pitbull, hangs out there during the day so they played together in the yard. I called to check on him and got the thumb's up, so I returned to get him. He was tuckered out from the excitement, but he got the go ahead for Thanksgiving weekend, so we are relieved!
The other big first today was Bennett eating rice cereal. Her pediatrician tried to get her started two months ago, but I insisted that she was happy and satisfied with her bottle. Since then, Steve has been asking if I was ready to introduce the cereal. I finally caved in today (since her 6th month birthday is right around the corner). See the video below to see how she did.
As you can see, she grew very impatient with me. Since she couldn't figure out how to eat from a spoon yet, she didn't like the concept of waiting in between bites. She expected it to be as quick and satisying as her bottle, so when I took a couple of seconds between bites, she got very upset. We'll try again tomorrow, and I am hopeful that she'll adapt.