Our new pet, Rocky, is still getting oriented to his new home. It’s a bit of a change from his cage at the Cherokee County Animal Shelter. First of all it’s not air conditioned, there are no bars or echos of barking dogs. There is a big patio and pool area where people come to play. There is a 3.5 acre fenced in yard with lots of grass, woods, trails, birds, squirrels and other mysteries to explore. There’s this schizophrenic rooster on the other side of the fence who crows any time of day except sunrise. And there is a really cool, three legged, old dog named Cabo who is glad to share his home with a new friend.

So how did we get such a good match? The whole family visited the animal shelter and came up with a short list of candidates. Then we brought Cabo to the shelter and had several rounds of speed dating. Dogs are interesting animals, they immediately know if they like another dog. The first dog and Cabo met with immediate growling and lunging at each other (not pretty)! The second dog, Rocky, met Cabo with a wagging tail and lots of sniffing the other. When the third dog came in, Cabo refused to look at it, keeping his back to the other dog. Bring back Rocky and the dogs really hit it off. Even now, there is no competition for food, beds, or human attention. Both are content to share. It’s amazing, doggy speed dating really works and it resulted in a great choice. It was also very helpful in resolving family disputes over which dog to bring home.