– Original date: 2019-02-09
– Labels: Iowa, Willow, Nebraska, Road-Trip, Travel

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Greetings Travelers,
I found a dog, decided to keep her, and she’s freaking adorable. Look at those wrinkles! Look at that nose! Look at those paws! I’m smitten if you can’t tell. Everyone, meet Willow.

The Discovery

Last week I went to Nebraska to visit some family. I was making my way to Iowa first to visit my cousins. Then Omaha to see my sisters, grandpa, and my aunt.

On my way, I had to stop at gas stations to you know, fill up gas.  I used my GasBuddy app, the one I mentioned in my article about the five must-have travel apps, and my first stop was just outside of Tulsa, OK. I remember this so vividly because it amused me to see icicles formed on the stop sign. I checked the temperature on my new Jeep and saw it was 26 degrees. I was no longer in Texas, and I needed more than my Nebraska hoodie.

I filled up and went inside to use the bathroom, and when I came back out, I heard some whining. I look down, and in a Tecate box is this cute little puppy. I looked around the entire parking lot to first make sure there were no other puppies out in this cold and secondly to see if anyone would claim them or saw something. Most people said no and got in their cars or acted disinterested. So I did the only thing I could think of, I put her in my car and brought her with me.

The Aftermath

A new dog is a huge responsibility, especially a puppy. This was not something I wanted to happen yet. I was still researching and looking at breeds, but I wanted to have the Shasta first.
There is no looking back now. I’ve taken Willow to the vet, and currently, we are battling parvo.  Parvo is a dangerous disease for a puppy to have, and there is no cure for it, only extensive treatment. If you catch it early, as the vet (and $450 worth of tests later) believes we have, she has the best chance for survival.

The Pooch

Willow is part blue heeler and part something else. The vet will be doing a DNA panel to discover what kind of mix she could be.  Blue Heelers are amazing dogs. The traits she is showing that are common among herding dogs are that she nips and herds. She is brilliant but also very stubborn. She’s also very clingy and has to be in the same room, she sleeps on me, and she is a chowhound.

Some Commands She Knows:

• Willow, Come
• Sit
• Leave-it
• Get Your Kitty

Commands to work on:

• Down
• Off
• Stay
• Get your toy/bone
• Paw/Shake

The next blog post should be about me finally paying off the Shasta and taking possession of it. YAY!

With love and paw prints,
Essie and Willow
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