So, the Dobermann was unanimously elected as our would-be new family member.

By this time, we knew it was a choice between getting a Dobe or no dog: we were convinced that this was the breed for us, and we could make it work despite being complete Dobermann novices.

My partner (“Ms. S”), having grown up with a German Shepherd and a chow-chow cross, was definitely more prepared.

I, on the other hand, had never owned a dog in my life, let alone a big dog.  I knew my expertise in goldfish, koi, turtles, hamsters, parakeets and yabbies would be of limited or no use, so I was realistically aware that there would be a steep learning curve and many challenges ahead of me.
But then again, a dog is just a dog, right?  A dog may be man’s best friend but man is still the master.  All you have to do is leave it in the backyard, teach it when to stop barking, take it for a walk now and then and remember to put water and some dog food in its bowl.  After all, how hard can looking after one young animal be?
I had no doubt in my mind that my love for animals would overcome any and all obstacles (not knowing that Dobe obstacles would be beyond my wildest imagination and instantly smash my human-supremacist complex to pieces!!!)

Anyway, we had already made up our minds, and nothing was going to stop us.   We moved on to the next step.

Ms. S called up the pounds in our local area to see whether any dobes could be saved and adopted.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, rather) there were none.

Luckily, one of the pounds referred us to a dobe breeder (“Mrs. Alpha”) who had been very helpful in providing advice and guidance to them.
Excited, Ms. S called Mrs. Alpha and elaborated on our burning desire to adopt a Dobermann Pinscher.  Mrs. Alpha was very nice on the phone, provided us with a wealth of information on Dobes, and told us that she had a dobe puppy available for adoption.

Hooray!

Mr. T