Meet Simon!!

Simon was living in Indio California when I heard about him.  He was 14 months old at the time.  He was living at a pet resort and was getting great treatment, but the important thing that was missing was that he was always at the pet resort, and not in a home.  After the day ended he had to spend the night in his crate with all the other dogs that were visiting.  In the mornings he would get up, get pottied, and then spend the rest of the day with the small dogs playing in the play room or just lazing around.  It was a pretty good life, but nobody took him home. 

My friend Helen King winters in Indio, and works at the Pet Resort that Simon was at.  She started to wonder what was going on with this little guy after observing that no one ever came to take him home.  That is when she found out that he had to stay at the Pet Resort and wouldn't be going to a home unless it was an adopted one.  This was a very upsetting situation for his owner, and she loved him, but was unable to give him what he needed.  She was given Simon at about 3 months of age by a woman who had 3 IGs, and couldn't stand to see little Simon for sale in the Pet Store.  She bought him to get him out of there, but after a few weeks she realized that it wasn't working and she had to find him a new home.  I don't know what happened, but that is when he went to the Pet Resort, and he spent the next year there. 

My friend Helen King started to work with Simon, and started some basic training with him.  He was very clever, very willing, and it was fun for him.  Sometime after this she suggested to Simon's owner, that she knew of a person in Seattle, that did agility with IGs, and might she think about letting Simon go to a home like that.  I don't know how long it took for this seed to germinate, but in March 2005 Helen got in touch with me saying that she knew of an IG that needed a home, and would I be interested?

I was actually thinking that "sometime" I would get another IG and had a veritable shopping list of the criteria it would have to meet before I took a second dog. Here is my list:

Sex: Likely a male

Size:  A little bigger than Al (13 3/8"), but not as big as Grace who is 15 1/2 inches tall

Color:  Irish and either Blue or Fawn, with lots of white on the legs.

Breeding:  From a reputable breeder that did all the testing and knew that their dogs were healthy and long lived.

The day after I talked to Helen on the phone about Simon she and her husband Mel, shot some video, and being technowizards in retirement, they sent me the video clip that is linked to this page.

From this point on, I didn't have a chance.  When I saw Simon in the video, I knew he would be a great dog, and the deal was done.  I had been planning to fly to Phoenix for the Italian Greyhound Western Regionals and to compete there in Agility with Al.  I made plans to fly to Ontario, Ca., rent a car, and drive through Indio, Ca. to pick up Simon, and then continue on to Pheonix with Simon and Al.

Al and I arrived in Indio in the very late afternoon, and we went directly to the Pet Resort to meet Simon.  He was amazing.  He seemed like the really cool guy at the party.  He was in the playroom playing with all the little dogs, and then he would just get up on a couch or bench and lay down and watch all his buddies play.  Then he'd get into it with them, and play hard and then find something else to do. 

When I met him we played right away.  He wanted to play tug of war and we had a good game!!  He was very confident, easy going, and very interested in me.  I also met Simon's owner and we talked a lot about him, and how she was going to miss him.  This was very encouraging, but also very difficult for both of us.  The next day, I went back, played with Simon a little, went over all Simon's health records, and visited a bit with his owner.  Then we packed up everything he had, and after a tearful goodbye, we were on our way to Phoenix. 

Al spent the next 4 hours in the back seat strapped in with his favorite bed, and all his toys.  Simon spent the whole drive on my lap, wedged between the steering wheel, and my body.  I don't think he had spent much if any time in a car, so he was quite needy, and very happy to cuddle in close to me.

Simon never met any of my "requirements" for the next dog that I might get.  He surpassed them all. 

He is a Biggie Iggy.  He is 16 3/4 inches tall. (He is bigger than Grace?)

He weighs 15 1/2 pounds. 

He is Seal with some white (very cut little white belly and some white on his chest) with just small tips of white on all his feet, and a 1/4 inch of white at the end of his very long tail.  Actually, I call his color California Golden Boy, because he has a lovely sunny bronze/gold color on his neck and shoulders, that make him just gorgeous. 

He is a pet shop puppy , which means that he came from a puppy mill somewhere in Missouri.  I'm sure that there was no genetic testing in either of his parents, grandparents or anywhere in his family tree. 

What Simon does have is a great disposition.  He is very confident.  Nothing seems to rattle him, and he ignores most of the abuse that Al and Grace have tried to hurl at him.  He just seems to ignore it, and then life goes on, and there is something happy or fun to do.  He doesn't have time to worry or dwell about bad stuff.