Luis, The (?) Mix, aka. “Sir Fartsalot”

When Ranger passed, we were all very devastated. I shed a lot of tears. And especially Lexi didn’t want to eat. Due to mourning, she ate a couple of milk bones each day. And that was it. After two weeks, I’ve seen enough. We decided to adopt another dog from the shelter, to make our family complete again. Lexi needed a buddy of her kind. The cats did a good job. But it is not the same without another dog. And I needed someone to help me with my grief.

Katelynn, Sara and I went to the shelter. We looked at some dogs, which were playing in a huge fenced area outside. I spoke with a lady, who volunteers at the shelter on a bi-daily basis. After I told her that we just lost a pet, she pointed out “Bill”. The girls and I looked at Bill closer, walked him around in the shelter area, and asked for more information at the front desk. Since he was the “Pet of the Week”, we got him vetted and for a good adoption price. The papers said, he is a pug/boxer. But when I looked at him closer, there was no way that this dog was a partial pug. I looked up pictures of all kinds of boxer mixes. And we came to the conclusion, he is a pit/boxer mix. We are still not 100 percent sure. Only a DNA test could give more information. But I’m pretty confident there is a pit in this dog.

When we came home, “Bill” made friends with Joshua immediately. We were very surprised. Joshua is usually the last pet to warm up with a new fur-friend. But that should change a few days later. Joshua is no friend of hustle and bustle and started to enjoy the “slice’n’dice” moments. He does it only when Luis comes way too close to him. Luis learned quickly that a cat has claws. And those claws aren’t pretty. Katelynn didn’t like “Bill” so much, and wanted to name the dog differently. She said, she likes “Luis” so much better. After some thoughts and how we were going to spell his name, we agreed to “Luis”.

Luis is such a stinker. He came a long way, since he didn’t know any commands when we first adopted him. Now, he is pretty good at it. Sometimes he is still focused on something. And it is harder to get his attention. But we work on it. He loves to chase and protect us from the “evil rabbit”. But then again, when Luis stops to take a leak, the rabbit sits next to him and waits patiently until Luis is done with his business. I think they are more friends than enemies. And I believe Luis chases the rabbit to get some workout. Yes, Luis loves daddy so much that he chewed up a pair of Kevin’s jeans, a pair of shorts, one of his dress shoes, and a pair of old tennis shoes. I guess Luis gets bored with all his chewy and squeaky toys sometimes. But on a good note: Since Chewbacca has a friend, who he can play and rough house with, he hasn’t chewed a cord lately.

Luis does a good job to help me with grieving for Ranger. Ranger was an awesome, laid-back dog. Luis, on the other hand, is soooo hyper. But that is exactly what we all needed: a dog with a different character. That way, we won’t compare them too much. And we accept each pet as an individual. We are very happy; Luis became a member of our family. 

(February 2017)