Wilson's meet-and-greet...

Wilson (bottom) meeting Flash (top left) and Loretta (top right).

This past weekend, while I was covering Nashville Predators training camp at Centennial SportsPlex, Lynn brought Wilson out there to meet me. We were very excited and wanted to experience the event together.

Wilson was going to meet his (hopefully) forever family.

Across from the SportsPlex is Centennial Park, a perfect open area for a meet-and-greet. Unfortunately, the annual Mutt Strut event was going on and there were dogs everywhere. Luckily we were able to find a nice shady area that we could wait for Wilson's new family to meet us at.

Wilson enjoyed looking at all the other dogs pass by and watching all the people come by him and give him love. He met a nice lady who had just finished a GiGi Cupcake, a pit bull puppy who was being socialized and, best of all, two older bassets named Flash and Loretta.

Flash and Loretta were the two dogs of Wilson's (hopefully) new forever family. They were basset people, which we were ecstatic about. Not only did it mean our family shared a passion with theirs, but it meant they knew the breed. They knew that bassets drool. They knew that bassets are stubborn. They knew that bassets can be loud. So many of the reasons why bassets end up in shelters and rescue organizations weren't going to be an issue with this family. Why? Because they knew what they were getting into.

Even beyond that, they seemed to be great people. And they seemed to love their dogs even more. These were not young hounds. They were older dogs that were in their double-digit years. And they treated them like their kids. You could just feel the love coming from them and it was incredible to experience. In a way, it gave Lynn and I some hope for the future.

We never like talking about life after Jolene. Our souls ache when we think about Jolene growing old and eventually leaving us. So, to be able to feel that much love from a family toward their elderly hounds, words cannot describe how comforting it was.

Even if the arrangement to bring Wilson into their family doesn't work out, we'll always have that. And that's something we'll remember for a long long time.

Wilson waits for his (hopefully) forever family by taking in the Mutt Strut.

Showing his true character...

Wilson sleeping on his back. He does this a lot. It's quite funny.

Wilson has been doing great lately. He seems to have fully adjusted to his (temporary) life here. Only some minor tweaking here and there and he should be good to go.

For example, when we first brought him into our home, we had to literally push him into his crate. Heck, Lynn even crawled in the crate with him to show that it was safe. Now, however, you say "crate!" (and if you have a treat in your hand), he literally runs upstairs and gets in. Such a great change.

Also, as you can see from the photo above, he loves to sleep on his back. When he does this, he has this growl on his face. He's not angry or dreaming or anything. His top lip just falls open and he makes classic faces. The photo above was from the first time we saw him sleep like that. Since then, we've probably caught him making that face three or four times. So, apparently, it's an everyday thing for him.

He's also a lot more active than four-year old basset hounds are supposed to be. He can sleep through the day while we're at work, no problem. But when we're at home, it's go! go! go! go! all.... the.... time. We're not really used to that since Jolene has discovered the one thing that most adult basset hounds enjoy: sleep. Typically, she has about an hour of play time in the evening and then, after a nice long power nap, another half hour of chewing at night. That's about it. So this whole up-and-down-the-stairs stuff isn't what we were expecting. Makes us think he's younger than four. It doesn't make him any less of a great dog. It's just that we were expecting a basset hound. You know? Lazy.

All that being said, we do have some observations that we may or may not have mentioned before. He likes to be dominant. But not an aggressive "I will KILL you!" dominant. More of a "I want to go through the door first" dominant. And a "I will pee over where you just peed to proclaim this spot mine" dominant. Which, when you have a dog as submissive as Jolene, who cares?

The only time things get bad is when Jolene is chewing on a bone he wants. And, as it turns out, he wants any bone that she may have at any time. He's growled at her when she's gotten too close to him a couple times which we, of course, quickly corrected. He's even gone and taken a bone from her while he was chewing a completely different one. We obviously corrected that too. But that doesn't seem to change things. We've probably watched him do that three times a week for the last couple weeks and the only "progression" we've seen is, when we stand up, he gives us a look like "I'm sorry but I have to take this from her." He used to just go for it. Now he at least pauses first. So we're working with him on that. He needs to understand that, when he has a bone he is content with, and Jolene wants a different bone -- completely unrelated to the one he has -- that it's okay. This mentality may take a while to fix.

What's weird is, when they're outside they act like the best of friends. They're outside running around, chasing each other and wrestling right now as a matter of fact. But when they're in the house, Wilson is alpha and that's just how it goes. It's a strange relationship.

When Wilson (L) and Jolene combine forces to get food, a dream team is born.

Starting to bounce back...

Wilson, in his neuter napkin, resting in the window.

Wilson is now three days removed from surgery and he's starting to return to his normal self. He's not full speed yet, obviously, but he's starting to eat normally, he's starting to chew on his favorite bone occasionally and he's starting to, you know, not sleep all day.

He loves to rest in the window and think about the old days (of being in tact), but he's starting to understand that we're here to take care of him when he doesn't feel well. He's been through a lot recently and, at times, you can tell he's skeptical. So we feel it's very important for him to know that we are here for him.

Anyway, Wilson didn't do much of anything the first 48 hours after we brought him home. It's nice to see him getting back to his old self.

Wilson eating. Finally.

The day after...

Wilson enjoying outside air for the first time since being neutered.

I went to pick Wilson up from the vet today. His face told the whole story.

The people at South Franklin Veterinary Clinic were great with him and they told me all that we needed to know going forward. They informed me that his diet should go back to normal, that he shouldn't run or jump for at least three days and that his stitches should dissolve within six.

I don't think we have to worry about the running or jumping. He has been camped out on the couch since I brought him home. I've had to keep Jolene away from him because, for some reason, she doesn't know something's wrong. So, in one way, it's a good thing she's happy to see him (we were worried she was happier without him) but, on the other hand, it's hard to believe she can't notice that he just wants to rest.

So, while rocking his "neuter napkin" (that's what I'm calling it. I really have no idea why they give them bandanna's), Wilson is just going to spend most of the day resting.

Tomorrow will be interesting though.

Wilson asleep on the couch.

Getting fixed...

Wilson is a little too happy riding to the vet.

Someone was a little too cheerful this morning. Of course, he wouldn't have been if he knew where we were going.

Wilson had his neuter appointment this morning. Around 7:15am I got up, let him go outside with Jolene, and then put her up before loading him into the car.

We were told he rides in cars well but that was not the case this morning. Well, okay, compared to Jolene, he's a dream in the car. But he wasn't the "let's go for a ride!!" type I was expecting.

He didn't like being in the backseat so, when I got out to get gas, he came up into the passenger seat and was waiting for me to get back. Then, when I opened the door to get in, he tried to bolt out the driver's side door. That's something Jolene has never tried to do so that caught me completely off guard. He did mellow out on the long drive to the vet, however. He eventually sat down in the passenger seat and just enjoyed the ride.

But now he's at the vet getting fixed. I feel bad for him. Four years old and still in tact and now they gotta come off. That's gotta suck. Please do the world a favor and get your dogs fixed at an early age. Please?!

We get him back early tomorrow afternoon. In the mean time, Jolene is taking this window of opportunity to actually, you know, sleep.

Jolene finally getting some shut-eye with Wilson out of the house.