My wife and I went downtown to the place where the Paws in Prison dogs were being introduced to the general public. I noticed four to five dogs but did not see Choctaw. I asked one of the volunteers if Choctaw had made the trip. She stated yes and pointed toward a tree line area. One of the other volunteers had walked Choctaw over to the grassy area to take a needed pee break. As Choctaw ran back toward the large tent that was set up, she ran straight to me and I felt myself melt. I had watched Choctaw online for eight weeks and now we had the pleasure of meeting. She was adorable and had a “sassy” attitude. Choctaw weighed about 20 pounds, brindled colored, with gold/brown eyes, and wearing a bright pink Paws in Prison bandanna. In my opinion, she was perfect. My wife looked at me and said, “I knew we were coming home with a dog today.”  I asked my wife to walk down to a nearby breakfast spot so that we could talk about the pros and cons of getting another dog so soon after Bady’s death. We ran into some friends of ours who sat with us and gave us their opinion on whether or not we should adopt Choctaw.  None of us could come up with a reason not to adopt Choctaw.  Needless to say, breakfast did not last long and we ran back down the street to get Choctaw. After signing the appropriate paperwork to adopt Choctaw, one of the volunteers gave me a harness with a leash along with a journal of her vaccinations and of her activities while she was going through her training program at the prison.

My wife and I loaded Choctaw into the backseat and we made our way to the nearest pet store to pick up a few things. I know Choctaw had to be a little nervous with new people and her new surroundings, so I sat in the backseat with her to make her feel a little more secure. When we arrived a the pet store, I let Choctaw pick out her own toys which she gladly did. We also purchased a new inside kennel for Choctaw because she had been trained to sleep in a kennel and that’s where she felt secure. When my wife and I arrived home with Choctaw, we introduced her to her new home.

As Choctaw roamed around the house checking everything out, I started thumbing through her journal. At the front of the journal was an information sheet that documented Choctaw’s journey. Apparently, Choctaw and her sibling, Cherokee, were abandoned on Choctaw Ridge in Union County, Arkansas. The information sheet also stated that “Choctaw is the boss” and plays a little rough with Cherokee. It also stated that Choctaw had the biggest heart and just wanted to love you. Two inmates had been assigned to her training program and both of them made notations in the journal of their time they had spent training Choctaw which I have included.  The first inmate listed Choctaw’s training commands that she learned and stated that “she’s a ball of fire” and wants to “lick” all the time. The second inmate stated that Choctaw was so love able and gets along great with other dogs. He also mentioned that Choctaw “never” wears down and can out play any other dog and out run any human in the “yard.” (I deliberately omitted the names of the trainers for this blog because I did not want to publish their names without their permission.)

Next up, Choctaw is introduced to her new brother, Titan.