Welcome Bechler- The Newest Member of the Family

It all started with a dog named, Cooper. Jack & I went to see a truck that was for sale. Jack had been looking at this truck for years and it finally came up for sale. While we were looking at the truck, we met, Cooper. A copper colored labradoodle. I am usually scared of dogs I don't know, but Cooper was different. His happy-go-lucky personality, goatee, and copper-colored hair reminded me of my brother, Gary. Cooper was kind and gentle with his owner's grandbabies, one in a jumper, and the other in an infant seat in the front yard. He just layed there with his front legs crossed and a happy look on his face.

We didn't buy the truck, but we found out about Cooper. He was very energetic at first. In fact, they said they gave him away to some friends. Their friends brought him back after he ate two sets of golf clubs. They said he settled down after 2 years and has become a fantastic dog.

I started researching labradoodles. I found one website that had reduced the price to $1,800 "due to the downturn in the economy." Buying a labradoodle was a bit steep for our budget.

I mentioned that we were interested in a labradoodle to a veterinarian I know and to our technician at the school, Shari, who is a dog rescuer.

A few months passed when Shari emailed me and said she saw one at the Meridian Animal Shelter. Jack went to the shelter to see the dog. The card on the kennel had the name "Moto" on it. Below the name, in big bold letters, was the word "WILD!". Jack took Moto out to walk and play ball and Moto nicked Jack's hand by accident while Jack was taking the ball from his mouth. This caused Moto to be quarantined for 10 days to see if he had rabies. We visited Moto several times during his stay at the Meridian Animal Shelter. His hair was long and stragglely, mostly black but with a brown tinge to his fur. I couldn't see his eyes. The only thing I could see was his pink tongue. He liked to jump, but did not bark. When I put my hand out and knelt down he would lay down just like he was already trained. We had to wait 8 days to see if someone claimed him. Finally on Wed., January 13th, we found out we could adopt him. We went out to dinner with Mom to celebrate.

Saturday, January 16th, he was groomed at the All Valley Animal Clinic. Sunday, January 17th, he was neutured. He also got his vacinations and had a Home Again computer chip put in. We got to pick him up on Monday, January 18th.

On Monday we went to various pet stores to pick up the things we needed for our new dog. Wow! Pet ownership brings a whole new world of supplies, etc.. We set up an outside kennel and bought two other kennels, one for the house and one for the car. We bought a nice soft round pillow for him at Costco. We also bought two blankets to protect the furniture. We bought some chewy toys- a Kong, a Rope with a Red rubber thing, and a blue adtoption ball.

We named him, Bechler, after the Bechler River in Yellowstone Park. The first thing Bechler did when he got home was pee on his nice soft Costco pillow. BAD DOG! He has not had any accident since. He seems easy to train and is a sweetheart. He is full of energy and affection.

Bechler's first night with us we got up to take him out at 3:00 a.m.. It was raining pretty hard. Jack and I were outside with Bechler and I decided to go into the house to get his water. I found out we were locked out, no keys, no cell phone. Boy, did we feel stupid! Bechler was doing great, but we weren't. We knocked on our neighbor's door-at 3:00 in the morning and asked if we could use her phone to call my mother to get a key. Jack used her car to go to my mother's house to get the key. We were embarrassed and felt bad because we woke up our neighbor and my mother in the middle of the night. A big thanks to Kathy and my Mom for helping us. We learned a lesson that night. Don't go out without your cell phone and keys!

Bechler has been terrific! He stayed in the inside kennel during his first week while we were at work because his stitches cannot get wet and it has been raining. He has to wear a cone on his head so he doesn't break open the stitches. He can't get into his doghouse with the cone on. Jack has been coming home from work at lunch to let him out.

We are establishing a schedule with him that seems to be working. He wakes up and goes out first thing. He gets one scoop of food and then goes out again right before we leave. Jack lets him out at lunch. He goes out first thing when we get home and then he eats. We take him for a walk. he goes out once more before we go to bed.

Bechler is learning to kennel, stay out of the kitchen and bathrooms, sit, fetch, wait to go out or in, only chew his toys, not jump up on people, walk on a leash, and stay back when we eat. He is learning fast. We are using Cesar Millan's training techniques with him. We have Cesar's book, Cesar's Way, and have watched several of the Dog Whisperer shows. It is amazing how fast Becher learns using these techniques.

We are very excited to have Bechler and thank Shari Black for letting us know he was at the Meridian Animal Shelter. We thank the people at the Meridian Animal Shelter for the work they do for dogs and for helping us adopt Bechler.