Hailey and Dillin

Since I haven't written about Hailey and Dillin yet, but I just added their picture at the top of my blog, I figure it's time to talk about them, just in case you aren't already familiar with my children.

About a week after I lost my precious Dexter, I decided it was time to add another fur child to my life. I started looking at pictures of dogs online; I checked every shelter in the Front Range and I checked Craigslist incessantly.

I thought I would get another medium-sized dog. Dexter was an 80-pound boxer mix, and he seemed to be a good size. I was also thinking about some sort of poodle or poodle mix. Dexter didn't shed a ton, but I still figured it would be nice to have a dog that didn't shed at all. Also, let's be honest, I wanted a dog I could do haircuts on.

So here I was, looking at hundreds upon hundreds of dogs, hemming and hawing over each and every one. This had to be just the right dog. I finally had a job where I could bring my dog to work with me on a regular basis, so I needed to find a dog that would do well with other dogs and people.

After two or three days of this, I saw a headline for an ad on Craigslist for a chihuahua poodle mix. I have no idea what made me open the ad. I hate chihuahuas, and I never had any interest in owning one. Besides, I was looking for a bigger dog, I never liked lap dogs. But I opened the ad, and as soon as I saw her picture, I knew...

She was mine.

After looking at hundreds of pictures, this one caught my eye. It was completely unexpected. But something about those black eyes and that white scraggly hair called to me. Maybe it's because she was as completely different from Dexter as I could get - from a large, brown, short-haired, male dog to a small, white, long-haired, female.

Anyway, when the girl who posted the ad found out I was a dog groomer and would bring her to work with me so she wouldn't be stuck at home, she decided I would be the perfect owner for Hailey.

She was five months old, and I was in over my head. Dexter was two years old when I adopted him; I really didn't know what to do with a puppy. She was house-trained, luckily, but I wasn't exactly sure how to do any more training with her.

At first, I had a hard time bonding with her because I was still grieving the loss of Dexter. But eventually she stole my heart and became my little Goober. She came with the name Hailey, and I never could come up with anything better than that, so I stuck with it, though I call her Goober almost as much as Hailey these days.

Within a few months, it became obvious that she needed a playmate. She absolutely loved playing with all the dogs at work; she never wanted to leave and go home. When we were at home, she acted rather lethargic. She might chew on a bone or play a little fetch, but mostly she sat around looking bored or just slept all the time. That's when I decided it was time to find another child to perfect my little family.

Again, I started checking the shelters and Craigslist, this time knowing I wanted a small poodle or poodle mix. I enjoyed doing Hailey's haircuts and the fact that she hardly shed. I was hoping for a slightly older dog, but of course fate would have it otherwise.

I found Dillin on Craigslist. He was advertised as a miniature poodle, which I thought was funny because in all my years of grooming, I've only ever seen one or two miniatures; the rest were toys being called miniatures. I only got to see one picture of him; he was sprawled on a kitchen floor, cream-colored, and cute as could be.

I had to do some haggling with the lady who was "rehoming" him, because she was a little wacko, but when we finally agreed on a price, I drove all the way down to Colorado Springs to get him. For those of you who don't live in Colorado, that's about an hour drive. Depending on where in each city you start and end, it could be more or less than that.

After getting lost once or twice, it wound up taking closer to an hour and a half to get there. Hailey and I were both fried. The lady brought Dillin out onto the fenced patio so he and Hailey could get to know each other. I think Hailey and I both fell in love with him instantly, but Dillin...

He was afraid of me and tried to bite Hailey. More than once.

I had just spent an hour and a half in my car and it would take at least another hour to get back home, and this little puppy wanted nothing to do with Hailey.

He eventually warmed up to Hailey and I a little bit, and I finally decided to take my chances. That would have been such a long drive to go back home empty-handed.

He was five months old at the time and came with the name Snowball. Oh, and he was obviously not a full poodle. I took one look at him and said, "Uh, is he mixed with something?"

"I dunno, I suppose he could have some Maltese in him."

Maltese. Suuuuuure.

Anyway, there was no way on earth I was keeping the name Snowball, especially since he wasn't pure white. One of my coworkers helped me name him; Hailey is the oldest daughter on the TV show "Modern Family," and she had a boyfriend named Dylan for a while. And I thought hmm, in Hindi (I watch a lot of Bollywood films), Dil means heart and Dilli - Hindi for the city of Delhi - means something like in or of the heart. So I figured I could spell his name Dillin and he would be Hailey's boyfriend and in my heart.

In the end, Hailey and Dillin became best friends within a few weeks. Hailey was not jealous at all, which was a relief. I believe Hailey is actually an Eskipoo, which is an American Eskimo poodle mix. She is almost a year and a half old now. Dillin is certainly actually a cockapoo and is almost one now. They make me absolutely insane sometimes, and I will probably blog about them a lot, but they are my children, and I love them very much.