J&S Adventures: 2009

Not all of the Skelton Adventures are physically challenging things that we've done. Our great adventure in May was adopting little Gipper. Although there was already plenty of activity in our house with two dogs, General is getting older and as much as we hate to admit it we don't know how much longer he'll be with us. Patriot has adored General from the first day he met him and we worry that when that time comes, it will be very difficult on Patriot. So maybe bringing in another dog now will help with the transition.

We looked at the local Humane Society and had picked out a "special needs" dog but got some incorrect information which led us to believe that he was already adopted. So I got on PetFinders.com and found some other candidates. I placed a call to One Paw At A Time to inquire about "Jojo" (one of the 6 dogs I had selected from the website) and was given the number for the foster family that had him. We met "Jojo" on a Sunday at the foster house and then they brought him down to our house for a visit on Monday to make sure everyone would be compatible.

Side Story: Bob (the foster Dad) told us that one other family was interested but their son Jacob didn't like those people so he said they couldn't have the dog. But when Jacob met us on Sunday he liked us and thought that it would be okay.

We weren't supposed to get him until the first of June but it was the Saturday of the Memorial Day weekend (May 23rd) and since we had the entire weekend AND Monday off too I thought that would give us plenty of time to get everyone adjusted. And for him to begin to learn his new name Gipper!

It’s been just over three months now and Gipper sure is a sweet little guy. It took Patriot a little longer to adjust to the rambunctious ways of a 6 month old puppy but they are good friends now. We feel like it’s even added some pep to General's step as he tries to chase him from time to time and ALWAYS succeeds in barking at him.

He is a yellow lab mix (we think with some sort of hound dog). He loves to run around and "get his mohawk on" which is our term for the hair that stands up all the way down his back when he's excited. He's very fast and can really dart. He also has an extra toe on his back right foot. He has "mad hops" and can jump really high. But the best thing of all is that he is such a little sweetie, very silly and a great addition to the Skelton family.