Scarlet at Three Months

Puppy naps and puppy snuggles. She sleeps or plays and when she plays, it can sometimes get muddy. Sariah didn't dig, but this pup likes the water and dirt combo. Too bad I didn't catch her until she'd muddied the floor. She also seems to find short cuts to eating when she's tired. That cracked us up. When we took her to the vet for shots, Kelly had to hold her because, who knew? Puppy pads pick up germs and can transfer to the pup before six months. So he held her large self in his lap. We better get her shots done fast! She's going to be too big for laps soon. Why is it that I don't know if she'll think she's too big? Her daddy thought he was a lap dog and still does. He's like 100 pounds.

Welcoming a New Pup - May

On May 6, 2017 we drove back to San Luis Obispo to pick up our new puppy. Sariah's dad had a new litter with a different momma. The breeder offered to let us choose a pup once other paying customers had chosen. We had our eye on a pup named Nala, but we had to be patient and see what the other owners did. Nala turned out to be one of four pups who had something called "parrot mouth" which is a slight over bite. The breeder could not sell her for top dollar so, she became available. We didn't care that our pup wouldn't be "show" perfect. We wanted one who was smart and sweet like Sariah. It turns out Nala was very much like Sariah and without even knowing which pup she was, we picked her out of the litter the same way we did Sariah. She wanted to cuddle and stay with us, would venture out, but would then come back. When we found out it was Nala, we were set. Kelly was with us this time, and it was nice to have him there to give his opinion. It was a true family decision.

We have named her Scarlet. The name took us several weeks to come up with because we needed to agree, and we couldn't agree. We tried Nala for a while, but we wanted an S name. Scarlet seemed to be a good fit because we didn't know a human Scarlet, it could be a dog's name and it started with an S.

She is a sweet pup. She licks a ton and her little tail wags faster almost as if apart from her body. She want's to snuggle up or sleep at our feet. She has met our friends and even found our bed. She's getting to know the lay of the land, and although she is a little needier and cuddlier than Sariah, we seem to really enjoy that. Our hearts are healing.

Random November, Nature and Hiking

 Sariah on a rare morning walk to the park.

 Jenna invited Abbey to a youth activity.

 While helping a momma with a new baby, Heather had a cuddle moment with the toddler that was too cute for me not to secretly photograph during church.

 Heat and moisture have caused our Plumeria tree to bloom as well treating us to some spectacular sunsets.

Kelly (just turned 51) and his friend, Smith, hiked Iron Mountain on November 22. Why? Because Kelly is over 50 and wanted to prove that he could. It's only a 7 mile hike with a slight elevation gain (7,000 feet!!!!).  A difficult hike, but worth it. And yes, he's still got it. 

Our Pup

She frolics through beautiful park meadows, hikes steep hills, anticipates her trail walks as soon as Kelly comes through the door, sleeps most of the morning, destroys toys within minutes of getting them, looks menacing one minute and super sweet and docile the next, and mostly just wants to be wherever we are.  Sariah is now just over one year old, and we simply love having her as a member of our family.

Sariah at Eleven Months

Does your dog watch t.v.?  Ours does.  We've never seen a dog watch t.v., but we noticed that Sariah notices what is on television, especially if there is an animal involved.  Other dogs, cats, lions, and even horses will attract her attention, and sometimes she barks and looks like she wants to jump right in the picture.  She's just another family member watching t.v.  Sariah loves to be with us, and Jenna spends a lot of time photographing her, doing puppy selfies and also having Sariah tag along when Jenna rollerblades.  Sariah loves to "go for a walk," and she seems to know when we're putting on the kind of shoes that go out on the trail.  She stands and sniffs our shoes while we're trying to put them on.  She knows the question, "Do you want to go for a walk?"  Her response is an immediate focused attention, a whimper or bark, and a beeline to the foyer to wait for us to follow.  If it gets much past 4 or 5 p.m., she stands at the door and barks just to let us know it's getting a little late.  Another one of her incredible gifts is surgery.  She performs precise, efficient surgery on any animal with stuffing or a squeaker.  She has dissected every toy in her bin including tennis balls.  We have stopped buying toys and switched to a chew bone so she can let out her energy on the bones.  The one toy that has survived the longest, Foxy, was a little tougher than the rest of her toys.  Sadly, Foxy was found beheaded on the living room floor this month.  Rest in peace Foxy.