It's a girl! ... puppy

After several years of talking about getting a puppy, Raminta started sending emails and making calls during late fall of 2007. After a few failed leads, she found a litter of husky/shepherd puppies at a rescue shelter near Salem. Marsha runs Hope's Haven out of her house. It started as a Husky rescue but has since expanded to include all breeds of dogs. Most of the dogs are adopted out, but the few she ends up keeping are her own personal canine version of the Isle of Misfit Toys... oddball dogs with hearts of gold whom only their mother could love.... but back to our pup ('cause that's why you're here!)

===== Olive wasn't supposed to happen =====

Missy came to the rescue with a staph infection, so they decided to wait for that to heal before having her spayed.














Nanook seemed to have already been fixed, so it was okay to keep them together...

...except for an undescended testacle.

Hooray for 13 puppies!!! (Olive at lower left.)


We sat in the middle of 13 tiny (4 week old) puppies for an hour and a half and eventually picked this female husky-esque pup...


..then popped outside for a quick introduction with Xander. He was not impressed.



===== 8 weeks =====

Adoption day


She was really timid her first night and screamed for 10-20 minutes every night (for about a week) when we put her away in her kennel. (Yes, she looks sweet enough, but you would not believe the barks of death that this pup could muster.)


Containing a puppy is pretty easy at first.


First walk with Raminta and Xander.


Animal harmony. (Our other cat, Temba, is still working through her initial concerns with the pup.)



===== 9 weeks =====

Driving to their first snow adventure together.


Pack pup.


"I'm too small and useless to run much in the snow!"


Sara and cuteness.



===== 11 weeks =====

Carrot-butt treats!


Curious.


My, what big paws you have.


All the better to eat you!!!


Piranha pup.


Who turned off the puppy?


Pink ball playtime.


Sleeping spot for tiny.


Come on in, Xander! What? You don't fit? Sure ya do. C'mon!


Kennel envy



===== 3 months =====

Puppy sleepover


Olive and Spider have come to an understanding.


X and O


Playtime with pink bone.


Our dogs: Olive (12 weeks, 21 pounds) and Xander (8 years, 90 pounds)



===== The Future of Our Animal House =====

We've heard that dogs get to half of their full-grown weight at 4 months. Olive is on pace for 27 pounds at that point, making her a 55 pound dog. If only we could be so lucky. I would love to keep our total mass of dogs under 150 pounds.... well, at least if we got to the point that Temba wasn't spending most of her time hiding in the basement, we will be in a very good place.