Ein Za Stampedo

Ein was Wedge's gift to me for graduation. I had always loved dogs, and when I researched corgis, I fell in love with them. After my first dog, Brownie, passed away I didn't want another dog for awhile. Mainly because it's really painful to see your dog going through so much pain their last hours and then dealing with the loss afterwards. When I felt ready for another dog, and was ready to put in the commitment, I asked Wedge for a dog as a graduation gift.

So during my last three months at college, I researched where I could find a breeder. I didn't really want a dog from a flea market or pet store. I didn't feel confident in their methods of raising a puppy, and I read a lot of horror stories during my research. Also, the two dogs my mom got, and my sister were all from flea markets or someone they knew. They seemed like wild monsters to me and really slow in the head. I called the breeders and was told they stopped breeding, or that they weren't going to have a litter until a year later. Some that did have a litter were all gone.

I then looked in the Dallas Classifieds and found some entries with corgis. I was really specific with the type of corgi I wanted.   I wanted to find a red and white female. I really didn't want another male dog, and the tri-colors didn't really interest me, but I wouldn't have minded one. Lots of males were listed, and so I had to wait week per week until it changed. When I did find a few breeders that had some, one lady wanted to interview me first, which I didn't mind. But she said after she interviewed me, she would choose the dog best suited for me. I didn't really agree with this because the corgi was pretty expensive with what she was asking, and then I was not allowed to pick the dog that I felt might have clicked best with me. I got really frustrated until someone recommended another breeder out in Muenster that had two female puppies and a male left.

I called and scheduled a meeting, and asked her a few questions before meeting the puppies, making sure it was not one of those situations where she chooses the dog for me.

We met halfway in Denton, since I'm from Dallas. I guess that was a bad choice, I should have seen how the dogs were raised, but I was kind of new to this process.

I remember it was daylight savings that day, so we had to wake up an hour earlier than normal. I was really excited, and Wedge was really sleepy. When we were getting ready to leave, Wedge said, "Now…puppies are always really cute, but I want you to know that you don't have to pick these out. And there are plenty other puppies out there that we can look at. Just don't fall in love with these immediately, think it through. There are other puppies out there, just remember that. Look at them from a 3 ^rd person view."

My response to that, "Pffffft"

I mean come on! Look at this face!! The paws! OMG *explodes*

So we drove an hour out to Denton, and the breeder was not there yet. I called her and found out she woke up late not realizing that it was daylight savings. So we waited, and Wedge told me again in the car, "Remember, there are other puppies."

Furball of mega cuteness! Remember this is the only puppy for us Wedge!

The breeder then pulls up 30 minutes later and we exchanged hellos. She opened the back of her SUV to show us the two female puppies she had. I had told her on the phone I just wanted to view the females. She also got out a book of photos of the mother and the father of the puppies and showed us their dog show certificates.

While Wedge was talking to the breeders, I decided to interact with the puppies.

The two little, round, bunny-like puppies were pretty groggy looking. One decided to come over and visit me. She was a not a shy puppy at all, was white and red with a little more fine black hairs on her back. She was more sable than red and white, but she was really cute. She had a little pink to the top of her nose and more white around the muzzle. She played with me, letting me pet her, and was real friendly, trying to nuzzle my hand to pet her. Eventually she started to nibble my hands…but not a nice one. It kinda hurt, and her little teeth were sharp. So the other female puppy finally woke up from her corner. She came over to me really groggy, and just sat in front of my hand. She had more red to her and a thin white line down her nose and a white dot on the top. She had a little white spot on the side of her mouth. All she did was just sit there, groggily and licked my hand while I pet her. Her sister started to go a little crazy and bite my hand harder and was jumping on my arm getting attention. She would yip a little here and there too.

Wedge finally finished talking to the breeder and paid attention to the puppies. He looked at me but I was too into the puppy licking my hand and staring intently at the little round furball with pointy ears. He interacted with them both and he had the same problem of the nipping from the sable one. So….I thought, this one is so sweet already and is just licking my hand. No monsterly barking or anything like her sister. The breeders left us alone to talk about it….and I was already convinced the red and white one with the gentle licks is the one for us. I reminded Wedge how hard it was for me to even find one to my specifications this far and this one is the nicest dog that I have met.

He gave in (MUAHAHAHAHA!) and bought me the dog. The breeder didn't name the dogs so that it can get use to what we call it. I named her Ein because of her resemblance to the Cowboy Bebop's corgi. She was really good in the car, stayed in my lap most of the time. I let her chew one of my plastic CD cases to keep her entertained. We went to Petmarts immediately and got her a leash and collar. She was rambunctious in the cart, wanted to know what was going on, trying to get out. One time I had my back turned on the cart and she managed to crawl out and fall. :( She cried a little bit but manager who had walked by said "Maybe she'll listen to her mommy better." She was so cute, just a little ball of fur with fluffy ears.

Sporting her new leash from Petsmart, look how midgetar she is!

Wedge was iffy on Ein when we got her, but now that's all changed. I find them always sleeping and cuddling together. The same Wedge who was like "There are other puppies, blah blah blah!" and was like "I don't want a dog, but I'm getting this dog for you, and you HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF HER!" (Imagine loud evil booming voice.) Now he cares for her more than I do sometimes.

Evidence of their cuddling escapades!

Since I still had school left, I would drive from Waco to Dallas pretty much almost most nights except when I had exams. Then drive from Dallas back to Waco at 5AM for class. This was so I could take care of Ein while she was young, so she could get potty trained and care for a puppy.

Her puppy phase was not so bad, just some random sleeping on top of your head episodes and the chewing of electrical equipment….She was pretty smart on her potty training and didn't have that many accidents. (A relief that finally I have a dog that is smart.) She also learn to make this really cute face in the mornings when I started working so I could stay home with her…

"You don't need that job, come...stay with me."

But now she is now use to our work schedules and immediately goes to her room (one of our bathrooms before Obi) or her crate when she sees us put on our work shoes. And we leave her out pretty much all day if we want to and not worry about her terrorizing the house. She's a real good dog and I love her to death. Her head is still pretty soft so its good for kissing, which she loves to get.

Ein loves sunbathing, and look at that face! Always cute! 

A blog primarily about the corgis in my life.

I had always wanted to do a blog about my dogs, the way they have impacted me, and remember all the cute memories I have of them. Sometimes the blog will be in their view.  Unfortunately it took the death of one of them to motivate me to start it up. I had wrote the history of my pets back in 2007, I found it recently when I was searching my inbox for a birthdate of Ein after her passing.

History of my pets:

Well I guess my mom always had a soft spot for animals, so we had a lot of pets come into our lives. As far as I can remember, I think our first dog was a poodle. This is probably the reason why I don’t like poodles, and I don’t remember most of it because I was really young, probably under 2 years old. All I know of it was from pictures; there was one where it was viciously attacking me for an orange. (Ok…it wasn’t viciously attacking me, but I’m pretty sure at that age and height level with a poodle, you think a tiger was after your orange.) Then there was another one where it was maliciously taunting me with a look from an arm chair. I guess my parents think it’s funny to immortalize my suffering with the poodle through these pictures.

Don't be fooled, he's trying to steal my french fry. 

Then we got a cat, which was what I really wanted as a little girl. My sister’s friend at the time, which lived down the road from us, had kittens. So I begged my dad if we could get a kitten, and even though he disliked them, he allowed my sister and me to have a kitten. It was a pretty kitten, white with hints on red near the face. However, my dad and the cat had a disagreement on where to use the bathroom, and so a few days later, my evil, non pet loving dad sent the cat back. :( Years later, I found out that I was actually allergic to cats, and I guess that’s why I named that cat Vickie – after seeing so much Vics Menthol Tablets laying around for my congestion. :P

We then got a big, grey sheep dog, I think this one was given to us. His name was Harry and he was very energetic. Eventually, my dad got rid of him because he didn’t like how Harry would jump on us (I guess for our safety) and tore up the back yard.

We then took in a stray dog that we found wandering in our alley. He was pretty huge, mix Doberman of some sort. He was nice to us for a few days but then got really territorial. We weren’t allowed in the backyard because he got aggressive at anyone approaching him. My mom had to throw his dinner out there. Eventually, we called animal control because he was too mean to try and take care of.

Then one day, my mom picked my brother and me up from school. In the back seat was a little brown pekingnese mix that had eye problems. Someone from work couldn’t afford to take care of him and so gave him to my mom. I think my mom just wanted a small dog for easier maintenance, and my brother and I grew attached to him pretty quick. He was the first dog to ever stay with us until the end. He had temper issues, and of course my dad was not fond of him because of that. He also was pretty mean if you went near his dinner when he was eating and snapped at you. He wasn’t the friendliest dog, but he was the most well behaved out of the ones we had to deal with.

Dayam Brownie, you look so cool! You even signed this picture!

This is the well-behaved out of all the dogs...

Eventually, my mom wanted another dog, so we got I think was a Shih-tzu mix. He was pretty cute, but had a long tongue. It would curl in and out when he was panting, which was all the time. I don’t know why we didn’t keep him, I guess my parents didn’t like his panting and my aunt thought it was really cute, so she took him in.

We then got a white American Eskimo, took her in from a friend who could not control her flea and tick problem. She was really beautiful, and trained to sit and stop. Pretty different from our wild dogs we encountered. She was too big to let her live as an inside dog because of all the shedding. I really liked her, and she was strong! I was surprised that she could pull us around on a leash when she was really excited.  I think even my dad liked her because she was clever. Eventually, her staying outside was too much for her, and we felt bad for her. So we gave her away to another family that took real good care of her. I remember I visited that home years later and found her pretty big for her body type and happy.

Then, close to my junior year in highschool, my mom fell in love with Pomeranians because her friends had them. So we got Cody, the red Pomeranian. He was really cute and really small. Had a very nice temperament, took care of Brownie (the pekingnese) and never barked wildy or bite. He was kinda slow though, so of course my dad didn’t like him.

My mom wanted a white one next, so while I was in college, we got a “white Pomeranian.” I think my mom was lied to, but she believed it and bought it. I think he was a mini American Eskimo. His bone structure was definitely bigger and heavier set than Cody (the red Pomeranian). His face look like a bear, and Cody was more fox like.

Cody and Tofu (white Pomeranian) didn’t get along, and having Brownie too was quite a mess. They all had dominance issues (my parents really wanted male dogs…..I guess cause they just wanted to have boys instead of girls *cry*) and it was a headache separating them and making sure they wouldn’t fight over treats. My mom was the only one to control them from fighting. Cody, though so abused, would always defend Brownie from Tofu with his small little body. So I grew to like Cody because of his small bravery.

Brownie then passed away, and it was really hard for my brother and me to deal with (we were pretty old and he was the first dog to really be in the family for so long.) Since I was never around Cody and Tofu, I wasn’t really attached to them, and I didn’t like how they were always fighting. My sister (which I don’t know why because she is not a dog person at all) got a dog, and of course would drop them at our house for dog sitting, would always get bullied by Tofu and defended by Cody. She was never home to take care of a dog and I think she just got one because it was trendy or something. She went through at least 4 dogs before eventually her fiance said no more. (We of course said no, but she wouldn’t listen to us.)

While in college, I was really hoping I could get a dog after I graduate. One that is smart, clever, friendly, and not a toy breed. I was pretty burnt out on the toy breeds (small bladders and brains), and seeing the history I wrote above, I just wanted a friendly dog. I didn’t want a dog the size of a Labrador though, I think that’s too much dog for me to manage seeing that we only took care of toy breeds.

So one day, I was watching a show called Cowboy Bebop, introduced to me by my current boyfriend Wedge (who is now my husband.) They had a Pembroke Welsh Corgi as a one of the main characters. I never knew of such a breed and it looked pretty interesting. So I googled the dog, and found out it was a real breed. I read some more on Corgis and to me, it felt like a perfect fit of what I wanted in a dog.

Wedge said that after I graduate, he would look into buying me a dog as a graduation gift. Yes I know, dogs are bad gifts, blah blah, but I knew what was to come for owning a dog and really wanted to own one. I had planned a bunch of things that I wanted my dog to be like so it’s less hassle for me:

1. Friendly
2. Not a boy
3. Eats only dog food (Brownie ate rice and whatever until his senior years, then switched to Iams because of Cody and Tofu)
4. Cuddler

I kept reading and researching about Pembroke Welsh Corgis, eventually I started trying to track down breeders around November (one month until my graduation). I was not a fan of the pet give away (which my parents always did) and pretty tired of dealing with ill-tempered dogs. So I wanted a puppy to start out fresh and new on the temperament, and I wanted to make sure it was from a breeder, and not a flea market or pet store.

Eventually, I tracked down a few breeders who were still breeding corgis (apparently the site I went to is pretty outdated.) and we set up meetings for the dogs. Apparently Corgis are pretty popular, so people who had puppies listed or said they did, had them gone the next day or only males left.(I really did not want another male dog because of dominance issues and leg humpings – Brownie was notorious for that.) Finally, through what seemed like a million referrels, we tracked a breeder with two female red and white corgis in Greenville, Tx. The breeder said she would meet us halfway in Denton, TX. I felt it was a rare chance so I asked Wedge to take me. He said I had to look at them and realize its only November, and there are probably other puppies out there that I need to look at. He also said that I should not demand to buy the puppy the minute I see it unless I’m sure that this is the dog I want for the rest of my life, and it’s a huge commitment.

So….with that….I will continue with the history of Ein. :)

"No one is as cute as me" Ein September 2002