What Up Finches?! IYKYK

It was so nice... I did it twice.

On August 29, 2024, the very day I was leaving for my grandma's wedding, another tiny street dog wandered his way onto campus. And that's how Darwin found his way home.

If you had asked me if I'd ever think I'd have six dogs, I'd have told you absolutely not. Yet, here I am with six male dogs, a boyfriend, and a male cat. I am so outnumbered, but I couldn't tell you when exactly that happened. I doubt the 10 extra pounds that are Darwin really tipped the scales. Did I need a 6th dog? Absolutely not. But I'm fortunate to have the support system I do and the ability to give them all a good home.

Will there be a 7th? Absolutely not. Someone tried to bring me another one just last week and luckily my work wife turned it down for me. I wish I could save them all, but I just can't. Managing six of them with their own unique needs is straining enough for Dog Dad and me.

Regardless, apparently Darwin had been hanging out around campus for a couple of days. The morning of August 29th he was seen curled up in front of the office doors taking a little nap. I guess my reputation for taking Tito now preceded me, because school resource officer and head custodian brought little Darwin to my room to hide out for the day or find a new home.

The original plan was for my co-teacher to take him home. The more she and I talked about her schedule between teaching, living alone, and coaching multiple lacrosse teams, the clearer it became that it probably wasn't a great time to get a puppy, especially one with who knows what kind of health concerns or training. Then it became a debate of: set the little guy loose on the streets again, take him to the humane society, or take him home and figure it out later.

I was firmly convinced that Darwin had to be related to Tito. I had Dog Dad convinced too, and we knew we couldn't just let the little guy run the streets anymore. In my head, the plan was to take him home, drop him off, and then let Dog Dad take him to the local humane society while I was on the road to my grandma's wedding in Mississippi. Instead, Darwin weaseled his way into the family while I was gone. Finally Dog Dad had his own teeny-tiny puppy friend, and Tito had a little guy his own size to wrestle with, and Reaper fell in love with Darwin pretty much instantly.

Training Darwin hasn't been without its challenges. I'm pretty sure Darwin suffers from some kind of learning deficit, the cause of which we'll never know. From his Embark DNA results we can see that inbreeding isn't the cause of it, so that leaves me to believe it may stem from some sort of early nutritional imbalance or other trauma from before we knew him. Potty training him has been an on-going struggle, and really the only thing we've managed to teach him is to sit. Everything else seems well beyond his capabilities.

Darwin's Embark results revealed that he and Tito are not related at all. They also showed us that Darwin is at an increased risk for IVDD, which is a spinal condition common in breeds with long bodies and short legs. IVDD is associated with pain in the back or neck, limping/weakness in the hind legs, difficulty walking/standing, and loss of coordination. We've seen Darwin struggling occasionally while he's playing with the other dogs, and it looks like he's just a little stiff. If we give him a little back massage he's good as new. It's something we'll keep an eye on, but I believe with a watchful eye and quick intervention if things take a turn in the wrong direction we'll be able to help Darwin live a long, happy, pain-free life.

So there you have it, the story of Darwin, the little derpy dog who weaseled his way into the family. Darwin's perfectly content being a little lap dog at home with Dog Dad, so that's exactly what he does.

Thanks for reading this tail, and here's to many more!

Danielle & Darwin

Final photo from https://www.bluepoodlestudios.com/ at one of our local FastCAT events