Puppy Surprise

Grandma and Grandpa picked Shane up from camp on Friday. Saturday, they fished, they saw the new Minions movie, and baked homemade cinnamon buns (Regular and Orange!). 

Sunday was pickup day. Carrie and I drove towards Richmond, but we must have taken a detour somewhere along the way. We ended up at a farm!

A farm with Sheltie puppies. There were two girls left to choose from (~9 weeks old).

This was why Carrie was nesting on Friday.

Loki is 3 years old. He's still intact, but it's at the point we either need to let him use the parts or we should snip him. The initial dream that we could hire him out as a stud muffin never materialized, so if Loki was going to be a dad we'd need to add a female to the mix.

Carrie said it was my call.

Summer was the right time for a puppy. I'd be home. Middle of the night bathroom breaks weren't followed by alarm clocks for work. 

So I agreed to go out and look at the pups (which was tantamount to saying 'yes,' and I knew it).

Carrie did all the research. She wanted a puppy with a "less dished face" and a sable merle coat. The sable in the picture is the dad and the other is the mom.

The farm children were happy to show off the puppies. We asked if it would be okay to bring Loki outside to see how he'd react. We knew we'd be gone for a while, so we brought him along for bathroom breaks and to see how he'd react (We asked ahead of time. We were 99% sure he'd be fine).

The farm children came out to help show off the puppies. One was a fiesty, outgoing kind of gal. The other was much shyer, but clearly bonded to her sibling. 

Loki didn't know what to do. He just wanted to wallow on my legs and stay out of trouble!

My first inclination was towards the outgoing on, but Carrie took a shine to the shy girl. She signed the papers on the front porch.

Suddenly, we had two dogs in the family. I never had more than one growing up.

I got to hold puppers in the car while Carrie drove.

Loki hung out in back. He didn't act any different than usual. I'm not sure he realized what adding a puppy to the mix meant (or what a puppy even was!).

We stopped at a PetSmart in Ashland near the Panera Bread Grandma picked to meet at. I stayed in the car with the dogs. Puppy napped.

Only it turned out Grandma told Grandpa a different place to meet! We raced off to meet them at the new spot with our surprise in tow.

Shane was a big fan!

Carrie was worried, but I decided it was fine for Shane to hold on the way home.

She was eating out of his hand!

Shane stayed excited longer than I expected on the way home.

We went straight home. No pit stops. I stayed long enough to take one picture and then sprinted inside (We don't keep a cool whip bowl handy like Nana).

The dogs were taking their own breaks when I returned. Loki preferred to keep his distance.

Puppy wasn't sure what to make of things, but she seemed game.

The cats greeted us when we came inside.

But their enthusiasm dimmed when they saw who we had with us.

Kila was curious about them, though!

She didn't hesitate to run over.

She was interested in the cats, the rabbits, Loki, everything.

Loki ignored her. If she got too bitey and in his face, he walked away.

Carrie and Shane gave Kila her first 'homecooked' meal and she scarfed it down in seconds.

Shane was still excited. 

He didn't like (or heed) Carrie's (constant) advice about not teaching Kila his fingers were toys or that she could get in his face, but everyone was still happy enough.

Provided you were a cat or Loki. We shut the door to keep him 'social' while I took care of a few things.

Loki's old crate was still in the garage, but some of it needed a good hosing down.

Everyone was still happy when I came back inside.

Kila and Hopkins are going to be roomies!

But first, Kila got to take an afternoon nap on Carrie.

She was up in time for an evening stroll around the farm.

The tall grass seemed difficult for little legs, so I took the dogs down to the arena.

Action freeze frame!

Everything is new and exciting for Kila, so the bar is low.

I jogged around some which got the pups moving after me. I was careful not to over do it.

And in case you didn't notice, I took a ton of pictures.

We walked back up the driveway to complete a circuit around the house. I wanted to tire Kila some, but not wear her out! You don't want to overwork puppies.

Kila's interested in Loki and is happy to follow him around.

Loki just wants to follow me, so it all works out. No leashes required.

This is what an active Loki shun in progress looks like. Carrie thinks Loki's convinced Kila's a small cat (but wouldn't he be obsessed with licking her butt then?).

I took more pictures my next turn of puppy care. We're attempting to start crate and potty training. Basically, we take her outside a lot. We cheer if she pees, bring her inside to play, and then take her back outside again before too much time passes and she has an accident. 

The cats keep checking in on her.

She's new and no one really knows how to interact with each other.....yet.

Random: Kila has 1.5 blue eyes. Apparently, mixed eye colors are common with her coat color (Source: Carrie).

The downside of potty training a puppy is the frequent trips outside. 

Carrie doesn't handle lack of sleep well, so it's my job to wake up in the middle of the night. 

Puppies normally progress fairly fast, so I think/hope the late night bathroom breaks will be done by the time school starts for kids (but maybe not by the teacher workdays).