A TWISTER hit our Home

Twister. He sat calmly on a leash outside of PETSMART. It was their adopt a shelter dog day. Skinny little guy. 8-10 months old. Found him wandering aimlessly along the streets of Trenton, NJ.

"Can we?" said the puppy dog face of my husband. "No." I replied. We have no room. We have no money. I meant what I said. We are pinching pennies these days and our 1000 sq foot home is considered a closet by modern day standards.

"Well, if we wait around till we have money or room, we never get what we want in life." replied the spousal unit. I hate when he's right. The dog handler chimed in on the plot "You can be Foster parents!"

Hmmmm.....Our beloved pooch, Finnegan, is still convalescing after his back trauma 6 weeks ago. He's made progress but is having a puppy the right thing for him? Will they get along? Will they bond like Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari in Bosum Buddies?

Those eyes looked up at me. And he was so relaxed and docile. "I'm going to go in and sign the Foster parent forms"....my husband already decided. My heart was tugging like a weight.

I worry. I worry a lot but I couldn't bring myself to put this little guy back into a shelter. Next thing I know, he's in the back seat of our car.

We weren't even supposed to go to PetSmart. We went to Barnes and Noble next door...but damn you...if you leave a homeless pet outside looking all vulerable and cute, you know we will be drawn like a magnet.

How did he get his name? His tail. He likes to chase his tail. Round and round...he'll bark at it.

He exits our car and goes into the yard...Jump, yipe, sniff our dog, jump yipe bark...sniff our dog a little more...mark the territory with the obligatory pee and he's off and running.

Part Greyhound, part who knows.....we section our small living room off. Him and Finnegan sniff each other, play tug, snark for dominance and run around.

Now, I know nothing about puppies. I'm just starting to watch DOG WHISPERER, read CESAR MILAN's books and learn how to be the PACK LEADER with our 5 year old pooch. Enter into the house a puppy and I feel overwhelmed and lost.

Any suggestions are most welcome. Please feel free to email me..I could use all the help I can get.

Oh, and his tail chasing is a fixation. Not very cute. He needs to break out of that habit...I am praying to St. Francis of Assisi (the animal Saint) for guidance.

Twister please be gentle.
Thanks for reading!