Monday, November 8, 2010

Jenn Waters & Corbin

Who is in the photo at right?

My name is Jenn Waters and I work for a local college. My pooch is Corbin, he's 16 months now and we call him the American Mutt - mostly we think he's some mix of American Staffordshire, Great Dane, Lab & Boxer... but who knows! Someday we might do a DNA test for him, but for now... he's just a Corbin!

What's the occasion for Coffee with a Canine?

A friend of mine was in town and we had planned on meeting in Saratoga Springs for some coffee... since it was a beautiful fall day, I decided to bring Corbin along.

What's brewing?

Starbucks skinny Vanilla Latte... YUM!

Any goodies to go with the coffee?

The latte was enough to satisfy me! I only treat myself every once in a while.

Any treat for Corbin on this occasion?

I actually forgot to bring treats for Corbin (I usually like to have them when we're walking. People always want to give him one!), so we stopped at a local dog shoppe called Sloppy Kisses. I planned on just getting Corbin a half pound of their home made treats, but we ended up leaving with a new t-shirt for him as well!

How were you and Corbin united?

My boyfriend, Adam, and I had just moved into our house and my family dogs stayed with my parents. Adam had never had pets before so I figured fostering would be a great way to get a dog in the house and test it out to see if it would work. I contacted a local rescue group who assured me they didn't have dogs coming in until January, but told me to stop in to discuss things with them. December 19th of last year, I got ready and headed out to their adoption clinic, assuring Adam I wasn't coming home with a dog this time. As I was talking with one of the volunteers, this crazy brown goofy dog ran up to me. His foster mom over heard us talking about how I was interested in fostering and explained to me that Corbin needed a new foster home. She had two young foster dogs, both were on limited activity since they each had leg issues, and boy did they love to play together! They were a handful for her to keep calm. So, shortly after talking with Corbin's foster mom, I was making a phone call to Adam to tell him Corbin was coming to meet him. He wasn't happy, as I told him I didn't want a young dog, and I didn't want a pit bull... Corbin was both of these. When Corbin arrived in our home, he ran around like a mad man, and then curled up on the couch and he was out like a light. Although we didn't know it then, Corbin did. He knew this was his home and that he was never leaving. Two months later, we realized it too. Corbin had ran, jumped, spun and licked his way into our hearts, and we just couldn't let him go.

How did Corbin get his name?

Corbin was given the name by his first "family" who dropped him off at the humane society where he was scheduled to be euthanized due to his pit bull look. After he came into our home, we thought about changing his name, but he was just such a Corbin... so it stuck.

Any aliases?

We call him Monkey most of the time -he jumps, crawls and climbs like a monkey! My mom calls him Corbie and my dad calls him "door knob" -I guess Corbin is the name of a door knob company. Adam's dad calls him Scooby because at times he looks and acts like Scooby Doo!

Cat, squirrel, postman...?

Squirrels, bunnies and birds! He thinks he's a hound dog. If he's inside and there's a squirrel outside, he'll run from our front window to the sliding glass doors to the back yard whining and yelping and throwing a huge fit to make sure we're aware there is a squirrel outside. And if we acknowledge the animal, he looks at us with the funniest face like he want to say "See it? Why are we not doing anything about it!? LET ME OUT!"

Tennis ball, squeaky-toy, stick...?

How about D: all of the above? Corbin loves anything that means playtime! Sometimes he gets so excited when Adam gets home and if there isn't a toy in site, he'll grab the nearest shoe, food dish or anything he can find that will fit in his mouth. Not to destroy, but just to prance around with.

Where is Corbin's favorite place for an outing?

He loves going anywhere and everywhere, even the vet! He gets excited every Sunday because he knows Adam is taking him to the "mancave" for football where he gets showered with attention. He also enjoys taking rides in the firebird up to Lake George - he loves boating and swimming!

We've just enjoyed Halloween: did Corbin do anything special to celebrate?

Corbin was dressed up as a frog prince! A week before Halloween, he came with me to a fundraiser at a harvest fest for the rescue he came from. He wore his costume and encouraged people to come see what the rescue is all about! Everyone loved him and he got lots of kisses so that he'd turn into the prince he is. He also wore his costume on Halloween and helped us hand out candy. He only got scared once when a werewolf came to the door!

Who are Corbin's best pet-pals?

Corbin's best pal is Emmett, we say Emmett is his brotha from anotha motha. Emmett was the other foster Corbin was with for a week before coming to us. They look very similar and they go absolutely crazy when they see each other. He also loves our neighbors Piper and Radar and we walk with them just about every night. He also meets his blogging friends Maggie Mae and Levi for walks at least once a month and his pal Floyd, too! We also decided to continue fostering after we adopted Corbin, so he gets a new foster sister every once in a while!

If Corbin could change one thing about you, what would it be?

Without a doubt, Corbin would change the fact that Adam and I have to leave for work every weekday morning. He would much prefer to stay in bed and be lazy with us all morning and play with us all afternoon.

What is Corbin's proudest moment?

It's hard to pick just one... Corbin is proud with just about everything he does. He is one of the happiest dogs I've ever been around. He is most proud when he's wearing something, whether it's a jacket, costume or one of his cool “muscle” shirts. He doesn’t just walk, he struts!

Most embarrassing?

Quite a funny story, actually. It was the first time we took Corbin out on the boat. He had his life jacket on while the boat was in motion, but we took it off of him while we were anchored because he had started getting hot in it. Adam was goofing around and jumped in the water and out of the corner of my eye; I see this brown blob in the air. Corbin had jumped in after him. This was Corbin’s first experience in the water and his face said it all. Of course, I was having a minor heart attack because he didn't have his life jacket on, but he was paddling away, completely unaware of what happened and scared to death! His eyes were bugging out of his head. He clearly had no idea what he was in for when he took that leap! It took us a while to get him back in the water (with his life jacket!) after that. But now he loves it!

Visit Corbin's blog and befriend him on Facebook.

--Marshal Zeringue