Atlas Vs. Goliath Snowman

As you know, we are trying to domesticate Atlas.

Before Atlas came a part of our family he'd gone from puppy mill, to shelter, to Rescue Group, to our home. For two years he'd never had a family who loved him and had never even been on a leash.

He seems to be adapting to life on the other end of the leash to some extent. I say this only because he no longer seems to be seeking to break free.

Atlas likes to take time to smell EVERYTHING. Grass, leaves, trash on the side of the road, it matter not, he wants to bury his nose deep into it all the while making pig snorts.

Christmas Day brought the anomaly of a blanket of snow. Snow was rare enough for Atlanta and Atlas was put off not just be the cold but he didn't like the wet either.

He eventually got past his initial reluctance and we began our walk. I was enjoying the holiday decorations that adorned the neighborhood homes but Atlas of course was obsessed with smell. He tried to bury his nose in a pile of snow and almost immediately withdrew his snout surprised by the chill.

I spied a small snowman on the lawn and it brought back childhood memories. We didn't have gloves so we would often put socks on our hands to help keep them warm. By the time we would come back in our feet and hands would be wet and so cold.

Just as we began to pass the snowman Atlas let out a low growl. He then rises up on his hind legs. This is the stance that Atlas takes when he's getting ready to go on the offense.

Immediately he's snapping and snarling at the snowman which is now a perceived threat.

He pulled and tugged and hopped from foot to foot as he challenged the frozen monolith almost saying, "Yeah come on. Bring it on Suck-ah!"

I had to give his leash several tugs before he could stand down. As he began to trot away, he looked back. I can't help but wonder if in his parting glance he was trying to communicate to his enemy, "You're just lucky my Mom is making me go because if she wasn't....."

Atlas Becomes A Member Of The Family

Today we adopted Atlas.

Atlas is a miniature pincher with a sad history but a happy future.

We had taken our dogs to the groomers and I noticed a cage contained a very timid small dog.

There was a small note on his cage that said, "one day away from being put down."

My heart stopped. I asked the owner of the groomer, "What does that car mean?"

It turns out that the dog had originally come from a puppy mill that had been busted and for a short time he became a resident of the local shelter. I can still remember hearing about it on the news. Conditions had been so bad that one dog had died and other dogs were trying to eat it.

The shelter being at capacity began to schedule dogs that weren't adopted to be euthanized. Fortunately a rescue group saved our baby.

Originally named Toby, we renamed him Atlas. We were also given notes that informed us that he'd never been on a leash and was not used to living with a family.

We decided to bring him home and introduce him to the joys of a walk. Instead he immediately taught us the panic of the mad dash.

Atlas turns out to be a very able escape artist and he took off running. The more he ran, the more we ran, then he'd allow us to get a little close and then he'd take off again.

It didn't take us long to learn that he thought this was a game and the odds seemed stacked against us.

I was in a dead panic because it was dark and cold outside and neither condition worked to our favor. Fortunately, Darryl was able to sneak up on him and he placed him in my arms. He cuddled next acting as though the wild romp had been nothing but an afterthought.

Atlas is very jumpy. He is not used to the every day sounds of a house and everything causes him to run and cower in the corner or under the blanket.

At the end of the evening, a very tired miniature pincher fell sleep lying at my feet and even snored a little.

I think I'm in love. Now I just have to convince him that he is loved and always will be.