Tony says we got a two-fer. LOL
Loretta is a "Bush-bucks" baby. Remember back when we got the first tax "rebate?" Well, Susanna, the love of my life, had died about a year before. Tony decided that if we spent real money (as in real money) for a dog, they wouldn't get cancer ('Nanna had leukemia). So, to the $600 we got from the prez, we added a couple of hundred bucks, and picked out Loretta. Hey, don't grimace - the woman's show-quality dogs were $1,500 and up. Loretta, being only "pet-quality," was a bargain at $800. Anyway, one of the cool things about getting a dog this way is that you literally get to see them from almost day one. We saw Loretta for the first time when she was 3 days old. Of course, we didn't know which dog was Loretta yet LOL. In order to get Loretta, we had to agree to certain things (gee, you think the $ alone would have been enough, huh?). We agreed to 1) let the breeder pick out which would be our dog based on our habits and the households habits and the dogs' emerging personalities (we did get to pick the sex); 2) have her spayed, 3) not to breed her, 4) had her microchipped, 5) a bunch of other stuff that I can't remember, and 6) (and this is where Daisy comes in) to return her to the breeder if for any reason we didn't want her any more. We visited the "dogs who might be Loretta" quite a few times before we actually got to find out which one was Loretta. On one trip, about 3 weeks before Loretta could come home (no, still didn't know which female would be Loretta) we met Daisy. Daisy had been returned to the breeder (per the agreement) by the couple who purchased her. Seems they wanted children, couldn't get pregnant, settled for an expensive dog, got pregnant, didn't want dog any more. We volunteered to take her home with us. (Imagine that.) The breeder couldn't let us have her at that point, because there was a good chance Daisy wouldn't live - seems like the assholes neglected to take her to the vet, only returning her when she was at death's door. Republicans, no doubt. Anyway, it turned out that her medical problems were serious but very manageable - thyroid problems solved by a half a little tablet 2x a day. She got on medication, but was still terribly depressed. The breeder finally said we could take her - so, Daisy came home one week before Loretta. It was a rough few weeks. She was depressed, had NO hair, and didn't want to interact with us or the other dogs at all. She was 5 then; she's 11 now. See - some stories have a happy ending! So, to this day, when I say something about the $800 Loretta costs, Tony insists that we really only paid $400 for Loretta, and $400 for Daisy....That's Daisy in the picture...isn't she pretty?
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