The puppy was already named when Ginny met her. Her name was Maggie. Ginny would have liked to have chosen a different name, like Nike, but Maggie stuck and so it was.
The plan was to keep Maggie at Ginny's house. She was to be crate trained. As much as Kayla was the official dog sitter, she was at school all day and I was home, so when Ginny was at work, I'd go over to her house, let Maggie out of the crate and outside. Then play with Maggie a little and put her back in the crate. Somehow, I had become the dog sitter ;-).
So up until this point, all I know is that Ginny is a women's basketball coach for University of Richmond, she's single, and she now has a puppy Yorkie. The first time I went into her house to check on Maggie, I expected the female version of a bachelor pad with basketball memorabilia in every corner. Boy was I in for a surprise!
Ginny's house was magazine-perfect! Great color scheme, tastefully decorated, and upgraded carpeting. I don't think there was a single basketball-related item in the entire downstairs. Ginny had style.
The more I got to know & adore Maggie, the less I liked her being in the house alone all day so eventually we brought the crate to our house. So much for allergies, huh? The vet said that this arrangement probably wouldn't work because Yorkies are pretty territorial and would not transition between houses easily. But Maggie did great...and even traveled to her Grammy's house in Philly without issue. Ginny would bring Maggie over on her way to work every morning, and pick her up in the evening. Ginny provided all the comforts of home for Maggie at our house - beds and toys, pens and gates.
It eventually got to the point that if Maggie was at our house and sensed that Ginny was home, she'd get excited and if she was at Ginny's house and saw us pull into the driveway, she'd run to the side window to greet us. She loved having two homes!
And, of course, over time the crate became unnecessary and before you knew it Maggie had free reign of Ginny's house as well as ours. Good thing Colin had gotten over his fear of cute little doggies!
Ginny was devoted to her puppy, teaching her fun tricks like the obvious sit, lay down, play dead, and roll over. She also taught Mags to "spread 'em" where Maggie would put her two front paws on the wall like a criminal being frisked. She'd have play dates with her friend Rhonda's dog Rhodie, and neighborhood dogs especially Ginger, Brisbie, and Marlow, take her to dog parks, and treat her to Bruester's ice cream on occasion.
In the meantime, we'd see Ginny daily and a friendship blossomed. She took a genuine interest in getting to know us, especially Kayla & Colin. She was right in the thick of things when it came to playing wiffle ball or badminton in the back yard, shooting hoops in the driveway, or throwing (extremely) long football tosses between our yards!
Saturday, May 31, 2014
Ginny, Part 1: Welcome Maggie
We knew the family we bought our house from, so we had a good idea of who our new neighbors were before moving in. We knew that the couple to the left of our house had a dog who had an "open door policy" in our house. These two families were close and Brandi was welcome in the Benders house whenever she wanted to come visit. At this point, Colin was afraid of dogs and Pierce & Colin had dog allergies, so we had to retrain Brandi pretty quickly about coming into our house. It really was never a problem.
The neighbor to our right was a single lady who coached at University of Richmond and was "never" home. Our introductions to her were chance encounters when we were all outside doing yard work or the like. It was a very casual neighborly relationship. Let's face it; she was a single woman who pursued sports for a career. We were non-athletic parents of two young kids. We didn't have much in common except a property line.
I remember one particular day that changed everything. I was pulling my car into the driveway and Ginny was in the yard between our houses with a cute little black fur ball romping in the grass. Colin & I got out of the car and went right over to see what she was up to. She explained that a secretary at U of R had adopted this Yorkshire terrier, but had decided the puppy was a bit more than she could handle and she wondered if Ginny would be interested in adopting her. Ginny had grown up with Yorkies and had thought about getting a dog but with her travel schedule didn't know how she could manage it without help. I turned to Colin and told him to go inside the house and get his sister.
Kayla is an animal lover and wanted a pet (other than fish, hermit crabs, and hamsters.) Opportunity was knocking!
Kayla came out of the house and fell in love. I honestly don't know if Ginny & Kayla had even met until this moment. This could be an opportunity for Ginny and Kayla to have the dog they both wanted. Ginny, Kayla & I discussed the possibility of Ginny adopting the dog with Kayla being the dog sitter. I remember walking toward the Rice's house with Ginny; she wanted to see if they would help too. I told her "we have first dibs." Half in jest; half selfishly because I knew we were up for the challenge of helping Ginny raise this sweet puppy. I know she remembered that line; we referenced it frequently in reflecting on our friendship.
Ginny had some thinking to do. She had numerous conversations with her mom. Her close relationship with her mom was introduced to me; she valued her mother's opinion more than anything. Ultimately, she decided to keep the sweet puppy Maggie and our friendship was sealed.
The neighbor to our right was a single lady who coached at University of Richmond and was "never" home. Our introductions to her were chance encounters when we were all outside doing yard work or the like. It was a very casual neighborly relationship. Let's face it; she was a single woman who pursued sports for a career. We were non-athletic parents of two young kids. We didn't have much in common except a property line.
I remember one particular day that changed everything. I was pulling my car into the driveway and Ginny was in the yard between our houses with a cute little black fur ball romping in the grass. Colin & I got out of the car and went right over to see what she was up to. She explained that a secretary at U of R had adopted this Yorkshire terrier, but had decided the puppy was a bit more than she could handle and she wondered if Ginny would be interested in adopting her. Ginny had grown up with Yorkies and had thought about getting a dog but with her travel schedule didn't know how she could manage it without help. I turned to Colin and told him to go inside the house and get his sister.
Kayla is an animal lover and wanted a pet (other than fish, hermit crabs, and hamsters.) Opportunity was knocking!
Kayla came out of the house and fell in love. I honestly don't know if Ginny & Kayla had even met until this moment. This could be an opportunity for Ginny and Kayla to have the dog they both wanted. Ginny, Kayla & I discussed the possibility of Ginny adopting the dog with Kayla being the dog sitter. I remember walking toward the Rice's house with Ginny; she wanted to see if they would help too. I told her "we have first dibs." Half in jest; half selfishly because I knew we were up for the challenge of helping Ginny raise this sweet puppy. I know she remembered that line; we referenced it frequently in reflecting on our friendship.
Ginny had some thinking to do. She had numerous conversations with her mom. Her close relationship with her mom was introduced to me; she valued her mother's opinion more than anything. Ultimately, she decided to keep the sweet puppy Maggie and our friendship was sealed.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)