Babies Need a New Home!

Chrissie and Jack

My name is Chrissie. My brother and I are about four years old. Jack’s neutered and I’m spayed.

We’re looking for our forever home, together.

Jack and I were turned into a municipal shelter here in Texas after being found without collars, tags, or microchips.

We look very much alike, but you can tell us apart by looking at our ears: Jack’s are long, blond, and curly, while mine are darker and smaller, with straighter hair.

We’re also a bit different in our behavior. While he’s the scholarly type, and somewhat more reserved, I’m more outgoing. Quite outgoing. Very outgoing! My foster mom says I often "eclipse" Jack, but I don’t know what that means. Whatever it is, he doesn’t mind. I am, after all, an Alpha female — gentle, benevolent, but definitely the spokesmodel for this pair. Jack’s a good guy — mellow, sweet, smart, and quite good-looking, says our foster mom (and about anyone who meets us) — but when there’s something to be said, I’m generally the one who’ll say it.

The shelter folks were so impressed, they called us GREAT DOGS! That’s what our foster family says, too. They say:

We’re affectionate, obedient, outgoing, and calm.

Our house and leash manners are excellent.

We’re nicely potty trained and will do all our personal business outside (leashed or running free in a securely fenced yard) or use a doggy door.

We can "sit" with the best of them and probably even do a "sit/stay."

We’re not barkers or chewers or worriers, though we have been known to snore lightly sometimes.

While we don’t beg or nag for snacks, we DO like to eat.

We understand and respect the meaning of the word NO.

We love people. Some people who’ve met us say they find it hard to believe such wonderful dogs could come from a shelter, but you and I know that this happens every day, especially with Cavaliers (says our foster mom).

The vet says our hearts and lungs sound fine (he can’t hear any murmur in either of us). Our hips and legs feel OK, he says. I’m recovering nicely from conjunctivitis and an outer ear infection, but the vet and my foster mom took care of that nasty business. Jack’s ears were worse than mine, but he’s come along well, too.

Even though my Jack and I seem to have been well loved, trained, and cared for, our teeth are in need of care. We’ll be having them cleaned next week, and after that, ready for adoption.

There are no cats here, but Jack and I met a big furry one at the vet’s and didn’t chase or annoy him; we just sniffed and tried to make conversation, but he wasn’t interested and the vet kept interrupting our efforts at socializing to do his thing. We don’t particularly care about the deer in our foster family’s back yard; our foster mom says that’s because we don’t have much of a "pray drive," but neither Jack nor I can see what in the world the deer in the back yard have to do with religion or riding around in cars — which, by the way, we like very much!

We’re pretty sure we like children. Don’t know about the really small ones, but the elementary school-age kids we met were gentle with us, and we were gentle with them. Mom said we were good dogs.

But I digress. If you’re looking to add a calm, stable, happy, loving pair to your family pack, maybe we’re it. Though our foster mom is pretty sure each of us would do well on our own, Rescue would prefer adopting us out to a family who would take us both together, since we sure seem to be brother and sister.

Oh, one more not-so-tiny thing: we’re each carrying, as they say on the internet matchmaking services, "a few extra pounds." But my foster mom has us on a diet and our foster brothers and sisters are showing us that it is possible — even fun — to eat tiny bits of vegetables and fruit, though I personally draw the line at orange peels. If you should happen to bring Jack and me into your forever family, the vet and his Rescue friends would strongly recommend that we drop a few pounds in the interest of keeping our hearts (and the rest of us) healthy.

BTW, while we didn’t quite make it to the Red Carpet a while back, we ARE internet video stars. You can see me — and, of course, my brother Jack — at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqXkZqGHkFA.

So, do we have a deal?

Jack adds:

Chrissie’s right.

We look so much alike, people — even our foster mom — sometimes have difficulty telling us apart. Here’s the key: my ears are indeed lighter in color and longer than Chrissie’s, but still very handsome (Chrissie left that out). And yes, Chrissie’s the more assertive one. She’ll ask, for example, to sleep on the Big Bed while I’ll just lie nearby and let her do the negotiating for the both of us. Yes, I’m more laid back, but I’m not at all shy or reclusive. I love people and other dogs. In fact, there’s really more to me than some might guess at first. In those rare moments in which my sister isn’t hogging the spotlight, people say I’m a terrific fellow, playful (but not puppyish), jovial, good-natured, and (I’m blushing here), sweet.

The vet sees signs of some previous injuries in my eyes, but they’ve healed and don’t appear to have affected my vision any. I can’t say I enjoy being medicated, especially in these ears right now, but I understand why it has to be done and I put up with it. I just let Chrissie go first; she would anyway.

But I digress. If you’re looking to add a calm, stable, happy, loving, tweedy sort of fellow to your family pack, I’m your guy. We two are, our foster mom says, as easy as one — easier than one, probably, given how excellent (and modest!) we really are.

Chrissie and I know our new names. You can change them if you want, but whatever you call us, we’ll probably both show up. Our foster mom called us "Jack and Chrissie" because she was a "Three’s Company" fan back in the day. Like our namesakes, we’re on video, too: you can see us at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqXkZqGHkFA.