knitabit

Meet Willie

Hey, everybody! I've got a new victim for quick-knit projects! Introducing Willie and his prototype dog sweater:

Willie is a Rat Terrier and has been a member of our household for 10 days now. He's four months old and is adjusting to our home and family just beautifully.

With such a thin coat, of course he needs sweaters for the colder months of the year. I started with an online pattern as a prototype and made a few of my own modifications. For this test version, I discovered that the chest piece was too wide, making the armholes too far down from the neck.

Of course the sweater could be a lot longer (I deliberately quit before it was long enough because I was more interested in troubleshooting the chest and armnoles) and his long neck could easily accommodate a wider neckband.

Now to get going on the real thing. I'll post a pattern once I've got it perfected.

The process of finding and acquiring a dog was rather interesting...

I was willing to adopt an older dog and I spent quite a bit of time scouting out local humane societies and various rescue organizations. Our local humane society is very busy and the minute a small dog is offered, swarms of people attempt to adopt. Maintaining vigilance of their web site and making repeated visits to the facility didn't seem like a wise use of my time.

The rescue organizations are a real joke. I have to single out a few for special condemnation: the Evergreen Animal Protective League and the Sunrise Foundation. Just know that before you attempt to adopt a pet from these type outfits that they have incredibly invasive application forms (they want to know how you're going to provide for the animal in your will!) and they look for any reason to declare you as an unfit owner. In the case of EAPL, I didn't make it through their screening process because we keep our two farm dogs outside. Never mind that Kelly and Bart have fantastic shelter from inclement weather; somehow these Animal-Police-wackos have decided that it's unnatural for canines to live outside. Someone go rescue those wolves up in Yellowstone! They'll freeze to death!

Frankly, it seems clear to me that they're all into animal-hording and their fragile self-esteem would be lost if they actually gave the animals away.

I threw in the towel and decided to just pay cash and be done with it. I found Willie at North Washington Street Kennels, a place that I'm sure would not meet any of the Animal Police standards. However, when I took Willie to my own vet, she said he had the most complete vaccination records she'd ever seen and was in perfect health. He seems well-socialized to both people and other dogs.

By the way, Willie (unlike our other dogs) will be a house-dog but will be stylishly dressed for cold-weather excursions. Stay tuned as his wardrobe develops!

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