Why did we even think about getting Zoey in the first place? It was because our older dog, Abby, was displaying extreme separation anxiety when I would leave in the morning (I am always last out of the house), pouting, laying on the bed, and generally being unresponsive. There was no question that she was lonely in the apartment all day long. She hungered for play time with other dogs and humans. When I would come home from work, she would attack me wanting to play; when I would take her down the hall to play with her friends, she would romp happily with them.
So we endeavored to find Abby a little sister (we never thought of getting a boy). A lot of research went into the effort. We hoped that Abby would connect with a dog immediately. She didn’t. But we did — Zoey stole our hearts from the moment we first laid eyes on her. She was playful, friendly, emotive and clearly wanted to be loved. She is also an extremely rare color of Coton de Tulear; most are all white, Zoey is black and white. It was an easy decision to want to make her another member of our family.
Zoey and Abby did not get along for a little while after we brought Little Z home from the hospital (Abby avoided her before we took her there — we’re now convinced it’s because she smelled imminent death on the little one). Zoey wanted to play and romp with Abby all the time, Abby with Zoey only part. But slowly but surely, as Abby came to realize that Zoey wasn’t going anywhere, the barriers between them started to come down. One of us would come home from work to find at least one of Zoey’s pee pads shredded and strewn all over the living room floor. Or we would find their toys littering the floor. Eventually, we would find them sleeping together or next to each other.
Zoey is a rambunctious puppy, which means that she often gets after Abby more than the older dog would want, but in general, their relationship is working out exactly as we had hoped. Our dogs are not just sisters but have become best friends. They play together, sleep together, and act crazy (dog-like) together. Abby is teaching Zoey how to be sweeter and calmer. Zoey is teaching Abby to be more of an extrovert and a flirt, especially with interested strangers on the street.
Having more than one dog does add to the owner’s workload but we have found it more than worth it. Not only did getting Zoey lead to our mission to stop puppy mills and the stores that enable them, but, more importantly, she has provided us, and Abby, with more love and friendship than we could have imagined. Our dogs are happier together than they would have been apart; and we are happier to have two of them.