Mandy

Breed: Sheltie-Tzu, Born: 10/9/2014, Adopted: 9/26/2015

We have always had multiple dogs. My wife's dog Courage passed in August of 2015, and about a month later I began the search for a new dog. We still had one dog, Penny, a Dox-Bull (that's a mix of Miniature Daschund & Pit-Bull, yes you read that right!). Penny had always been part of a pack and was really depressed after Courage passed. I was looking specifically for a Cockapoo. I had two previous Cockapoos and they were great dogs. I found a website that featured Cockapoos avaiable to rescue. The only one I found anywhere even remotely close was in Rochester, NY. It was for an 11 month old dog named Brandy. I answered the ad, and received an automated response saying that I would most likely be dealing with a foster parent, who may not know much about the dog. The person got in touch, and I suggested meeting halfway since Rochester is a five hour drive. She wouldn't do that, so on Saturday, 9/26/2015, we packed the family in the car and headed to Rochester. We arrived at the house, and it turned out we were at the dog's owner's house. She just didn't want the dog anymore. Brandy was being kept in a crate outside with a rusty door. The woman actually had newspapers in the crate, so it looked like the poor dog wasn't even being let out of the crate to go to the bathroom! The woman pocketed the rescue fee (which was supposed to be for getting the dog fixed and for shots, both of which were not done). The woman told us that she gave her a bath and cleaned her up. It appeared that meant she hosed her down in the backyard. Her fur was half cut, and her tail hairs were matted. It was obvious that she wasn't being well cared for. Brandy was happy to see us, but I think she would have been happy to see anyone at that point! She had no problem jumping into the back seat of the car with a bunch of strangers. Meanwhile, the woman had a young daugher, maybe 2 or 3 years old, who started to cry "Please don't give away Brandy!" We just couldn't wait to get out of there!

(Mandy in our back seat minutes after joining her new forever family)

We had pretty much decided that we weren't fond of the name "Brandy" and would re-name her "Mandy". It sounded enough like "Brandy" that she wouldn't have to re-learn a new name! It took out about six and a half hours to drive back to Connecticut, since we had to stop a couple times to let Mandy out. She spent the ride home in the back seat, going from one kids lap to another! She probably thought her new life was just going to be riding in the car with us forerver, and I don't think that would have been a problem for her!

She was excited to arrive at her new home, but got very upset when she realized we had another dog, Penny! Mandy got over it (mostly), and her presence seemed to re-juvinate Penny who was 13 years old at the time.

(Pictures of Mandy in her new forever home, and getting along with new "sister" Penny)

Mandy adjusted quickly to her life. She was basically a good dog in those days, but lacked socialization skills. She also had a habit of herding our cats (we had three of them at the time). My experience with Cockapoos led me to believe that she might not actually be a Cockapoo. Herding is not a Cockapoo trait. I got her DNA tested and she turned out to be 50% Shih-Tzu, 37.5% Shetland Sheep Dog (explains the herding), and amazingly 12.5% Pug! We took our Sheltie-Tzu to Petco for some basic training that helped a lot, but what helped more was Petco's "Small Dog Social" where she got to interact with other people and other dog's her size in a controlled environment. This is also where she met her BFF, a Maltipom (Malteese/Pomeranian mix) named "Cookie"! After mastering the Small Dog Social, trips to the Dog Park became an almost daily experience. It is at the Dog Park that we would meet the next future member of our family, Lexi.

Lexi

Breed: Cockapoo, Born: 11/19/2015, Adopted: 7/10/2016

We met Lexi at the South Windsor Bark Park on 3/5/2016. She was about four months old at the time, just a baby. She took to me almost immediately. She greeted me like I was her long lost human! She sat on my lap for about 20 minutes that first day! She was clearly a cockapoo. Her coat and her demeanor just screamed Cockapoo! Her owner told us that Lexi never reacted that way with anyone before. She proceeded to complain about the fact that the breeder she got Lexi from lopped her tail without telling her, and that she really wanted a dog with a tail! I told her that day, that I would be happy to take Lexi if she didn't want her, and gave her my contact information.

(Lexi on my lap, momnents after I met her for the first time)

We would encounter Lexi frequently over the next few months. Her owner brought her to Petco for training, and to the same small dog social that Mandy attended weekly. On 7/10/2016 I received a call in the morning from Lexi's owner saying she was ready to give us Lexi! We made the exchange later that evening at the South Windsor Bark Park. For a dog that gets nervous when I go out to get the mail without her, she didn't have any problem being left with us at the dog park that day. It was also the first time that Mandy and Lexi ever really played together at the Dog Park. It was like Lexi knew that was her new sister! Mandy was shocked when we left the park and Lexi got into the backseat and came home with her.

(Lexi at the dog park, the day she joined her new forever family)

(Lexi at East Windsor Dog Park, shortly after we adopted her.)

Mandy And Lexi

Lexi intergrated so well in our family. She adores Mandy, and was easy to train because she had her big sister show her the way. Mandy and Lexi are a perfect pair for each other. In the early days, they would play in the house with each other. Mandy no longer bothered the cats, because she had someone else to keep her occupied.

We would visit the Dog Park almost daily, where we would arrange playdates with Cookie. Penny would sometimes join the crew at the dog park before she passed at almost 16 years old in 2018.

(Penny, Mandy and Lexi at the East Windsor Dog Park)

(A typical day at the dog park with Cookie.)

(Mandy and Lexi with their friend Zues at the East Windsor Dog Park)

(We would visit other area Dog Parks. Here are Mandy and Lexi with their friends from the Rocky Hill Dog Park)

(One of the times Cookie stayed over and the girls posed for a group shot with the cats, Oliver and Cuddles)

Mandy and Lexi have become used to dressing up for special ocassions. They regularly enter costume contests, and often times they will win.

(Mandy and Lexi at a Renaissance Faire in 2017)

(Mandy and Lexi taking first place in the costume contest at Barktoberfest in 2019)

The dogs are always ready to go on adventures. In addition to trips to the dog park, and hiking adventures, they like going shopping at dog friendly establishments.

(Mandy and Lexi shopping at the Apple Store)

(Shopping for Christmas Cards)

At home, Mandy likes playing with her toys. The dogs literally have hundreds of them. I've never had a dog that likes her toys as much as Mandy. Lexi likes toys too, but also likes to cuddle up with her humans on the couch and get belly rubs!

(Toys! Toys! Toys!)

(Mandy and her toys)

(Belly Rubs Please!)

(Mandy, Lexi and Oliver with the newest edition of our family, Ruby)

In March of 2020, COVID caused the Dog Parks to all shut down. I started working remotely, and I needed to get out of the house to get some exercise. I began taking Mandy and Lexi for daily walks around Rye Street Park, and having socially distant playdates with Cookie at a park in East Windsor. We soon started to expand our outdoor adventures to other towns, and that is how the adventures on this page began. As vaccines have become available and life is slowly starting to get back to normal, we completed our visits to every Connecticut town. Those visits are documented on this page, as well as the times we ventured to neighboring states. Even though we have visited every town in Connecticut, we still look for new adventures. Mandy and Lexi love the adventures, and love all the extra time that they get to spend with me since I've been working from home. We hope to continue these adventures, even after life returns to normal.