Meet Ruby

Dogs, Reflections

I want to take a minute to introduce you to our newest family member. Ruby is a lab/shepherd mix, about a year old.

We had been thinking and talking about getting another dog for quite a while, but a couple of things had to happen before we did. First, we decided we would wait until after my vacation to visit my sister. It would not have been fair to my husband or the dog to get a new dog and then have me leave for a few days. Second, on June 2 we were scheduled to have new windows installed in our home. This required a lot of preparation on our part, taking down shutters, moving furniture, curtains, blinds, etc… There just wasn’t a lot of time to spend with a new dog.

Even though we continue to be busy with the farm and spring cleaning at the house, this week seemed to be the right time to find Ranger a new friend. I had been watching the website of our local animal shelter for a while and knew they had a lot of animals in need of loving homes. As we backed out of the driveway to head for the shelter on Tuesday afternoon my husband asked, “are we doing the right thing?”

“Let’s pray about it” I replied, and we did. “Lord please help us find the perfect (for us) dog.”

Ruby was one of three dogs we met when we visited the shelter on Tuesday afternoon.

God answered our prayer.

When we brought her home, she immediately began responding to her new name (at the shelter they were calling her Chipotle). Our first order of business was giving her a shower and as I did she stood very nicely while I washed her and then she gave me kisses. She has been well behaved both in the house and at the farm.

She is trying very hard to get Ranger to love her. At this point he is tolerant and slowly warming up to her but there is a bit of jealousy on both sides as they are both vying for my, or my husbands, attention.

It is apparent that in her past life someone spent a good deal of time training her as she has only had one accident in the house at night. She knows and responds to many basic commands among them are “come, sit, stay, leave it, this way and release.” She loves to play ball and tug-of-war. She loves to cuddle and will climb on my lap when I sit in my recliner. She loves to go for rides. She loves to go for walks and spend time at farm.

She still has a few things to learn, like not to chase chickens; not to greet people by putting her front paws on their chest; and although she knows she doesn’t get to sleep in bed with us she still needs to be reminded.

Overall, I’d say Ruby is a real gem. 🙂

Addendum: I’ve been writing this post little by little each day this week and each day it seems there is more to love. Yesterday, Saturday, Ranger and Ruby had their first real play session. They ran around and chased each other and barked at each other and tails were wagging the whole time. It was great to see the kids dogs getting along so well.

Thanks for stopping by.

24 thoughts on “Meet Ruby”

  1. I am behind the times and just catching up on your blog and am so pleased to meet Ruby. She looks delightful. It is good to see that a new friend has come. I hope she bring you much joy.

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    1. She is so delightful and her and Ranger are becoming good friends. God answered our prayers when we went to the shelter. When will you be coming to meet her in person?

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      1. I am hoping to be there in the fall. We haven’t decided the exact days yet. I want to see Braygen play football and I hope to see leaves in multi-colors. I has been 16 years since I have been able to see that. 😉

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  4. You made the right decision and I like “Ruby” better than “Chipotle” – yes, you are right, Ruby is a gem. I’m glad Ranger warmed up to her … I get it, he got used to being the “only dog” and it is hard to share the love again. Looking forward to more posts with Ranger and Ruby.

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    1. I agree. Who would call a dog Chipolte? there still is some competition for attention and food. Sometimes Ranger has to put her in her place then he come to us to make sure he is not in trouble. They are both great dogs!

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      1. That’s funny with Ranger making Ruby tow the line, then worrying he was bullying her and would be in trouble. I love hearing how all animals minds work … people don’t give credit to animals for how smart they really are. You said Ruby is your fourth shelter dog and you’ve been lucky each time. Our family had three dogs and could not housebreak any of them. So that I think was the humans, not the animals’ fault.

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      2. I find it amazing the ways dogs communicate with each other. While it can be verbal or through their actions there also seems to be some form of telepathy between some of them. I know it happened often with Scout and Trooper, who were very close.
        I think training methods have come a long way in recent years. Consistency is a huge part of it and using basics (consistent) commands and lots of positive reinforcement. I am thankful that I am familiar with the basics commands because they were used in Ruby’s training.

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      3. It’s nice you got a pal for Ranger … it’s good having two dogs as companions for one another. Ruby is definitely proving to be another, 4th perfect choice for you for a pet.

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    1. She sure is a blessing! Trooper’s death was hard on Ranger. He was settling in ok though he was very dependent on my husband. I think now that Ranger has Ruby to play with my husband might get a bit of a break.

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