Short version: they are doing great. They are healthy, happy, and a constant source of entertainment, not to mention love and affection. But when it comes to dogs, who wants a short version?
The great escape.
Cookie has matured and settled in -- but she is still a wild child, and very independent. I have to lock my closet door, and if I forget she will find a shoe to use as a chew toy. Now that she knows she'll earn a treat for coming inside, she stands on the deck and waits for me to put my hand on the treat jar before trotting in. She's that kind of girl.
You may recall that shortly after we moved in, we discovered that (a) the backyard fence wasn't very good and (b) Cookie was an escape artist. When she first let herself in, we thought it was so cute and funny. But when we forgot to lock the front door and she let herself out, not so much.
So we have a beautiful new fence now, and we keep our doors -- and closets -- locked. Yet despite the new fence and our new lock awareness, she has found ways to escape.
There was one tiny part of the fence that we didn't replace -- a connector between the deck and the main fence. It seemed secure. Wrong. She found a way.
Post-fence, most escapes have involved wriggling under the deck, then finding a way out from there. Cookie would find an area where the wood lattice was thin, or softened from years of rain, and she'd work on dismantling it until she could fit through the hole.
Allan has been covering the whole space under the deck with chicken wire. Once wire is up, Cookie seems to understand that route is blocked.
One time, looking out the window, I happened to see a quick flash of something that might have been Cookie's ear or the top of her head -- in the neighbour's yard. I got outside just in time to see her squeeze under the neighbour's fence and into the street.
Once she's out, she cavorts around with glee, her front paws flying off the ground as she runs. She might as well be shouting, I'm free! Freeee!!!
Inevitably, we end up jumping in the car and driving around to streets she's visited before. When she sees us, she's not the slightest bit chagrined. Oh, look, my ride is here.
This ugly fencing is only under the deck. The new fence is great.
The love bugs.
All our dogs have loved each other, but the affection between these two is unprecedented in our experience. My phone is full of pics like this.
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| The wood stove + the new bed = puppy bliss. |
The beach.
This is their playground. Allan checks the tides and takes them at least once a week, but usually more often.
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