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We Went Puppy Shopping, and Instead We Got Dibbs

It was tough dealing with the death of Larry the Cat. After all, Baby Jocko and Larry were our first set of fur-kids. But we needed to move on, and we agreed that our next pet would be a dog. We decided to get a puppy so we could train it to travel and stay with us on the boat. So many boating friends brought dogs along, and we decided to join the pack.


We wanted to adopt from a shelter, so we set out first to Bideawee in Wantagh the following Sunday morning. The only thing we knew was that we wanted a mid to large-sized female dog. The breed didn't matter; the coat color didn't matter. We wandered around the kennels that held the available pups, but none appealed to us. I think perhaps it was too soon after Larry and we needed more time to grieve. But maybe I was wrong.


Suddenly Frank came up behind me.


“Jean, look,” he said. Frank sounded as if he was trying too hard to stay calm. His tone was almost pleading, asking me to keep an open mind.


My heart skipped a beat; had he found our new fur-puppy? I turned to face him and saw he was holding a big, beautiful deep grey cat.


The vet let us take Dibbs the cat home that day. Usually there is a two-day wait period so they can be sure you want the animal and so they can check references. Because Dibbs was six years old, he would not be easily adoptable – even though he was such a handsome boy.


We told Bidawee that we were planning on getting a puppy. They said that Dibbs should be fine with a dog. Looking forward, I can tell you that The Famous Phoebe adored Dibbs. And Dibbs was a true gentleman as he was forced to deal with crazy puppy antics.


When it was time to take him home, Dibbs was put into a cardboard carrier. He was screaming – he sounded terrified, so I sat next to him in the back seat to try and comfort him. Suddenly his paw smashed through one of the air holes in the cardboard like something out of a horror movie. Wow! It was my turn to scream. What the heck did we just adopt?



We all got home safely and without any other alien-like attacks. It worked out very well that Dibbs had time to get used to his new home before we got him a puppy-sister. As you can see, Dibbs acclimated to his surroundings - including us - very easily.




Finally: Next time we get a puppy. I promise!

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