need advise on getting a puppy

[believer]

ok, a mom on a local mom board in my area found a cute little puppy and posted a sign and asked in her neighborhood and no one is claiming it and she said it seems skinny and hungry and needs a home because her small children are scared of it - it is small, but jumpy like puppies are.
I have 3 children ages 12, 6 and 3, and a 2 yo golden retriever and a 5 yo cat. I have not asked dh yet. The kids want the puppy. I am a bit concerned because it is small and our old wooden fence has some gaps. I would have to try to plug them up. We plan to put up a new fence in the next 6 months. Do I really want or need another dog? It is so cute looking in the photo.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v670/dbjorn/PUPPY.jpg
What would you do?

[Sanveann]

Poor angel!

I would go meet the puppy and see if it seems friendly. If you can't take it, put the lady in contact with a local no-kill shelter. You can find a list in your area at www.petfinder.org -- in most places, puppies are easy to find homes for.

[believer]

I got her. She has fleas. I am having her bathed at the pet store because she is too young for flea treatment and you have to drown the fleas and leave the shampoo on for 20 min to do that and I don't want to do that in or outside my house because I already have a dog and a cat and if some fleas escape they will set up permanant residence here, so I figured it was good to have her bathed at the groomers before coming in my house. I will take her to the vet on Monday. She is very sweet.

[Sanveann]

Yay! How is the little sweetheart doing?

[believer]

She is very sweet and friendly. She can be quite loud for such a small dog. I have her shut in the laundry room right now to settle down and rest, but she is fussing quite a bit. Our 2 year old golden retriever doesn't know what to make of this. I don't want them together much yet until I take the puppy to the vet. She has a very fat belly and I imagine she has worms since she had fleas. I have not seen her poop yet - she may have gone before I got her this morning and she may have gone at the groomers - I did not ask, but she has yet to in my presence. She had quite a full day today - after I got her - 40 miles away, I came home, and got dh and my 2 younger children and went to a church children's outing at a park where she got lots of attention, then we went to my sister's house to pick up my older dd and then to the pet store where she got bathed, and then home and then I took her with me to drop my oldest dd off at church for the young people's meeting and then on the way home I stopped by a friend's house to show her off and see if she could determine the breed (my friend used to work for a vet). As I have typed this she has quieted down. I am sure she is napping. That is good. As far as anyone has guessed, we think she may be part beagle and will probably be medium sized. I have never had a puppy this young - she is probably 7 or 8 weeks old - the groomer lady looked at her teeth and guessed that. Honey was 10 or 11 weeks old when we got her and about 2 1/2 times her size at least.
I hope she is not too noisy tonight when we sleep.

[Sanveann]

Do you have a crate? If so, could you put one in your bedroom so she could sleep near you? We did that with Macy when we first got her, and she was much quieter at night if she could see us.

[believer]

We tried using the cat carrier as a crate, but the holes in the door are just the right size for the puppy to bite and get her lower jaw stuck in, so it is not going to work for her right now. I will take the puppy to the vet tomorrow and if the vet says she is healthy, then we will start socializing her with Honey, our 2 yo golden retriever. I hope to find out her breed(s) and approximate size and age. Then I will purchase a crate. :-)

[believer]

Well, my 12 yo dd has no patience at all and she insisted on introducing the puppy to the dog even though I had explained that I wanted to wait until I had taken the puppy to the vet. So, I hope that it is ok and that the puppy is healthy and has not given anything to the dog. I do not know much about how to introduce the animals, but the dog - 2yo golden retriever female - was very excited and running and jumping around the puppy and sniffing her, but she would sit when we told her to and the puppy was ok, but got a little concerned at Honey's excitement. We supervised closely. I think once they get used to each other, they will be fine friends. Honey is a sweetheart of a dog without a vicious thought in her mind ever.

[Sanveann]

Is Honey up to date on her vax? If she is, I think the worst the puppy could give her would be fleas.