So much news....

To get caught up: shortly after our trip to Siesta Key, we packed up house and moved. With the help of Grandma and Grandpa Panning, we managed to turn in the keys to our rental within 5 days of closing on our new house. Then having spent less than a week in our new place, we hopped in the car for a 3000 mile round trip odyssey to Michigan for the Angyus family reunion. (vacation pix link) And then we spent more time visiting in Indiana and Chicago. (adding: the girls told me it was their "best vacation ever!" They had a great time seeing everyone). We came back to Florida at the beginning of the month to settle into our new house.



And now we are completely distracted by d.o.g. (aka Charlie sometimes Charles originally named Cecil by his foster family. We loved the name but thought it might be awkward calling him Cecil when our next door neighbor's name is Cecile). Anyway, Charlie joined our family last week. I haven't taken a lot of pictures of our new house yet because I'm so busy taking pictures of our new doggie love. So, here's the scoop. We've been planning on getting a dog for years and years. But, our constant moving and living in rentals made this a challenge. Now, that we have finally bought our own place which is near the park and has a lovely fenced in yard, I've been on the lookout. We figured that it would be a good year to train a dog because my hours are still part-time and the girls are at a good age. We had a strong preference for a rescue dog, with the caveat that it be young and trainable to be around kids. Such dogs are hard to find. The young ones seem to always be Pitt mixes which make me nervous and the older ones are usually untested around children). And then, I stumbled across a litter online at the Gainesville Pet Rescue. We went with the intention of just looking, but you know how that goes! (I'm sure Mark would have preferred to unpack all our boxes before bringing home a new baby). But, the Rescue Center was awesome. We got to meet all the puppies, play with them in a special room and even take them outside for walks. Charlie won us(me!) over because he was obviously a big people pleaser, smart and not as hyper as his littermates. He made a lot of eye contact and seemed tuned in to us. And he was obviously very loving with lots of kisses.



We had a long session with our adoption counselor. She made the adoption a big family affair talking to the girls directly about their new responsibilities and how to treat the dog. They took the whole thing very seriously and even got to sign his paperwork.


So far, the girls have been great with him. They want to be involved with all aspects of his care. But they are very respectful, too. And they live in fear of him eating their toys. So for the first time ever, they've been invested in keeping their things picked up (at least out of the common areas).



As for his stats: his description is male tri-color hound mix. But, everyone who meets him thinks Beagle. He was born approx. June 19th, 2009 making him a little over 8 weeks old. Mom is a 40lb hound-looking dog. She wandered into someone's property delivering a large litter of puppies which were surrendered to the Rescue. Dad is unknown. So far, he looks a lot like a Beagle (much more so than his littermates) but with longer legs and big paws. He currently weighs 12.5lbs. The vet estimates that he'll probably be at least 30lbs and maybe closer to 40lbs. He's doing pretty well with his crate training. He's able to go 4 hour stretches at night which is good for a dog his age. He seems to get the concept of going outside with just a few accidents. He's really smart and can retrieve tennis balls and bring them back. So far, he hasn't been exceptionally vocal. *knock on wood* That is apparently an issue with Beagles.

The cat seems to be adjusting. She's a resilient creature having survived 4 moves, newborn twins and now a puppy!) She hid under our bed for the first couple days. But, she's starting to feel a little more confident now. We set up a little suite for her, gating off our bedroom with her box and food in the master bath. So, she can get away from him if necessary. So far, he doesn't seem very interested in her. I'm not sure if he's even aware she lives here. They haven't had too many encounters yet.

And that's the news for now. The girls and I go back to school/work next week. And it will be good to get into a normal routine again. It has been a very eventful summer.