Bailey

Meet the newest member of our household -- Bailey.

As you know we applied several days ago to adopt her from a local dog charity called All Dogs Matter. We got Olga from the same organization back in 2012, so it was only natural for us to return to them. The process unfolded smoothly -- because they know we've been dog owners in the past -- and yesterday the woman who runs the group told us we could come and get Bailey at their kennels in Waltham Abbey in far northeast London.

We were initially thinking we might go Wednesday, because Dave had Zoom meetings yesterday and today for school. But I volunteered to go on my own, because I wanted her here as soon as possible -- so that's what we did. (I also picked up Olga on my own, so there was precedent for this!)

I met Bailey at the shelter and walked her around the grounds, and played with her a bit. Here's what we know: She's about a year and a half old, she's had at least one litter of puppies and she's only recently coming out of heat. She was apparently abandoned after producing those puppies. She has a microchip but it's blank -- there's no owner information registered -- and the chip itself is Romanian. We don't know whether this means Bailey came from Romania, or whether someone imported Romanian chips and implanted them here.

There's been some confusion over her name. The shelter office named her Bailey and put her on their web site with that name. But apparently the carers at the kennel called her Tali, as in Natalia, because of her Romanian connection. Dave and I had already agreed that Bailey seems a good name so I think we're going to keep it. The dog doesn't seem to know either name, so I'm not sure it matters to her.

After meeting her, I called the same taxi service that I took from the tube station to the shelter, and a nice guy named Graham who is a fellow Staffy enthusiast himself drove me from Waltham Abbey all the way back to West Hampstead, at what seemed to me a bargain rate. The odyssey took all afternoon but I finally got Bailey home around 4 p.m.

Dave, meanwhile, was out buying some supplies, including food, treats and poop bags. He gave Bailey a stuffed hot dog with a tuggy rope inside, and she promptly eviscerated it (as you'll see in the video below). I got out Olga's old Kongs and her old bed, and we still have some of her other belongings, so we're good to go with dog equipment.

Bailey is about the same weight as Olga, but her legs are shorter and she's a bit stockier.

I told Dave a better name for her might be Sherman or Pershing. He didn't get the tank reference, but she really is shaped like a tank. Or, as Dave said, a torpedo.

So now, it's getting-to-know-you time in the PapenReed household! Bailey has already showed a fondness for Dave's chair, which was also one of Olga's favorite retreats.

I'm both excited to have Bailey with us and sad, deeply sad, that she's not Olga. I know that's unfair and I think the feeling will go away with time, but it is what it is. Bailey seems more hyper-vigilant and laser-focused, with a bit of ADHD, but I think some of that will subside as she relaxes. 

The rescue people made a big deal about Bailey's nervousness around other dogs. They said she has a strong "prey instinct" and always chases squirrels and cats (which, again, is something we're used to). Yesterday evening, as we watched TV in the living room, she kept leaping at houseflies.

Apparently she doesn't tolerate yappy dogs very well and the rescuers recommended I keep her on a lead while walking. She's still very young, so I'm hopeful that as she grows up and calms down, and gets more comfortable in our household, she'll be a little less triggered by other dogs and we can eventually let her off-lead. I got such joy from watching Olga romp through the woods on Hampstead Heath that I can't imagine not doing the same with Bailey. Just not right away.

Meanwhile, I'm thinking I'll order one of those long leads from Amazon so she will be attached to me but with some freedom to run.

She's got a lot of puppy energy but she seems well housebroken and she's shown no destructive tendencies, aside from thoroughly killing her toys. Here's what she looks like as I'm typing this post: