Three Dogs means 12 Paws

I mentioned Denali, our new black puppy girl, in earlier posts. After a time of reluctance (she loved being the only dog of the house) Sitka, our older girl, accepted Denali but we could tell it was not the best match. Denali has such a yearning for play times and games that Sitka, who is 10 year old, cannot fulfill. After 30 seconds of fun, Sitka clearly shows she is done.

When we found out that Debbie, our breeder friend, had a new litter, we intensely looked at the pictures.  Irvin immediately melted when looking at a male pup, chestnut colored with the white spots on his chest that means that he was destined to be a family pet, not a show dog.

I never had a male dog, and I felt out of my comfort zone with this little guy for a while. But it was only fair that Irvin would make the pick, we have had three females so far. He was feeling a little lonely being the only man at home!

And this is how, in August, we brought Kenai home. Sitka was exasperated. ANOTHER dog??? Denali was delighted.

Sitka assessing the new comer. This was the day we brought Kenai home.

Then the pack found its balance. Sitka is the Alpha girl who has the last word if there is conflict. The two pups flatten themselves on the ground if she growls. Denali and Kenai play all the time together, chewing each other ears, in the house or in the yard. There is chaos and lots of movements but we are not complaining. It is all good. 

Visiting Dad

River is a two year old black cocker spaniel. He lives at our friend’s Debbie from whom we got Tashina, our first beloved girl. We stayed in touch ever since. River is the Dad of our three month old puppy Denali.

We organized to visit after Easter and arrived early afternoon with our two girls. Debbie and her family live near Olympia – an hour south from us.

River is a young and enthusiastic boy. This scared Denali a bit – she withdrew and sat on my shoes. 

However Sitka (9 year old) appreciated River’s interest and was gracious to him.

Once the excitation fell down a bit, River showed some friendliness to Denali. She looks like him but her white spots that we like so much make her one of a kind.

A litter was recently born at Debbie’s. It did not go very well. Two of the four puppies did not survive the birth. The mother refused to  breast-feed the two others. She was so aggressive that Debbie took them away, concerned that she would kill them. Debbie started feeding them with a bottle (every two hours!). 

Then she had the idea to introduce them to another dog she had – a mother who had litters before and took good care of her puppies. Success was immediate. The new coming mom sniffed the puppies and started licking them. They soon became inseparable. “I asked the vet if she might have some milk, explained Debbie, and he said it was impossible. But I saw it : she does have some milk coming out!”

Debbie showed us the puppies through the window because they are not protected by vaccines yet. As we were taking picture, the surrogate mom was inside, looking at the pups and us. She was attentive and serene. 

Challenges and Metaphors of the Black Dog

When you like communicating and sharing, having a black dog may be tricky. You want to show off the young animal, share the emotion. But the black dog is difficult to photograph. If the light is not right, your picture shows a dark shadow with imprecise outline.

In what direction is the tail or the head of the animal in this picture??

Of course, you can play with the settings, lightening things up, but then you get a grey puppy in the midst of a washed out surrounding.

Plus, the model is fast and does not get that she should stay still for a short moment for posterity (and the popularity of the parents on facebook).

Here, two seconds ago, there was a puppy exquisitely laying on her bed

So since she is difficult to show in a photo, I imagine how else I could represent her.

Of course, if she was a dragon from the “How to train your Dragon” series , she would be a Fury. Isn't the resemblance uncanny? 

If she was an underwater creature, she would be a sea urchin. I grew up swimming in the Mediterranean Sea and know all too well the painful encounter with sea urchins, when you step on them while swimming, just the day you did not wear your plastic sandals. 
This is quite the experience with Denali. She rushes over you, all tenderness and love, and after a moment of cuddling, she nips at you with her needle-like teeth!

So it is not that easy to share images of our dragon-urchin. But I have to admit: living with her and seeing her grow is a joy. You will have to take my word for it. 

Deeds and Misdeeds of the New Girl on the Block

She jiggled and slept on my shoulder and in my neck, her muzzle on my collarbone, during the 4 hours it took us to drive home (Irvin was driving).

She welcomed all the new features of her new home with enthusiasm, sometimes even joyfully hopping on the spot.

Each step is almost higher than she is, but only a few days were needed for her to climb the stairs, leaping from step to step like a tiny mountain goat. She is afraid to go down though.

She adores Sitka, follows her everywhere, and tries to imitate her every move. Sitka does not reciprocate those feelings. 

When she gets growled at and pushed back by the alpha pup – because she interfered with the routine of her favorite moments, chewing on ice cubes, peaceful naps, or tender moments with us – she flattens herself on the ground in total loving submission. Then, without any psychological insight, she rushes back on Sitka, tries to get her to play, nibble on her ears… until the next bickering.

She loves to cuddle in our arms, warm and so soft. But soon she does bite everything she can reach, phalange, ear, lip… I am not sure she got the memo about her puppy teeth being currently as pointed as needles.

She reminds me of Tashina, but they are also different. Denali’s muzzle is longer. She is not shy as our very first pet was.

She cries at length, expressing deep emotions, when she loses sight of us. Sitka hates hearing this and goes in hiding in faraway places in the house.

She woke me up at 4:30 AM early this week because she wanted to play. This was the night where I was done writing an intricate introduction to the chapter 13 of the Gospel of Mark (the “apocalyptic” chapter) at 1:30 then had to wake up at 6:30 for a day full of meetings.

She follows us step by step so closely that we sometimes go into sudden unconventional dance movements when we want to avoid walking on her while not falling down.

She joyously gallops like a foal, especially when she is in the middle of a spectacular action, such as unrolling the toilet paper behind her after she got hold of its end in an unauthorized raid inside the bathroom.

In other words, we totally control the situation.

Denali Era, day 1

Eventually, the day arrived. On Thursday night, Irvin flew back from Louisville, Kentucky where he almost stayed stuck because of an upcoming snow storm. The next morning, we were driving toward Oregon. Nearby Salem, we met Sally whose pretty little female dog had a litter by the end of December. And we got to finally meet with Denali. We had only seen pictures so far.

As I was holding her, I felt this chemical wave in my brain – ocytocin? Endorphin? A rush of happiness washed over me. I felt as light as a bubble floating in the sky. Sally showed us papers to sign. I was so distracted. If I had not dealt with an honest person, and without a husband, I might as well have signed an IOU for an abundant sum of money or an order to have a half-dozen of Dobermans delivered to our door in the coming days.

We have not had such a young puppy at home for almost 10 years. What surprised me most is… how small she is. She is joyful and lively, but she is so small and vulnerable… I felt that way with each of my previous dogs then forgot about it. I am looking forward for her to get bigger.

And in the same time, as I hold her and sense her warm breath while she falls asleep in my arms, I don’t want to rush – but fully experience each day. 

Pink Sky on President’s Day

Today is President’s Day. UPPC is closed, so is the headquarter of PCUSA in Louisville where Irvin works from home – a deployed position. We both have things to do, bible studies to prepare, articles to write, emails requiring replies…

But there was sunshine today at that was the opportunity of a pause. We walked Sitka in the Spring-like weather. As usual, she insisted she would bark every time we would pass by other strollers, two or four legged ones, even if she eventually shared silent moments of fellowship, muzzle to muzzle, with some friendly dogs. 

That was the opportunity to wonder about a topic that regularly comes back in our conversation : make sure Denali does not follow Sitka’s example.

When the sun went down, the sky became pink and luminous. We know that the East coast is struggling with mountains of snow and frigid temperatures right now. I wish we could switch somewhat : some warmth for them, a few snowflakes for us. We hardly had any winter.

Picture by Joey Leatheman posted
on the facebook page of local channel King5

But it does not work that way. Each area has its own climate. We can only wish that Spring season will eventually cross the Rocky mountains… 

Denali is coming

Dogs come into our lives to teach us about love, they depart to teach us about loss. A new dog never replaces an old dog; it merely expands the heart. If you have loved many dogs, your heart is very big. (Erica Jong)

This is not about «replacing» Tashina. Simply, we have enjoyed so much having eight paws running at home and two muzzles around us that we have started to inquire about the litters of puppies in our area.

Debbie, in whose home Tashina was born, told us about a litter in Oregon. The father belongs to her. Seven cocker spaniels puppies, all black, were born at the end of the year. Some may become show dogs.

But not this little girl: her belly and throat are white. This is considered a flaw in the breed. A black cocker should be solid black. So she must go to a pet family, not interested in show competition. This is exactly us. We find her very cute as she is. We are going to call her Denali – as in Denali mountain, in Alaska. We will go and pick her up early March.

Of course, we are not sure what Sitka will think about this. She has settled quickly in her new routine of only pup of the house and enjoys our full attention. She may grind her teeth a little. We hope she will have fun going back to her playful puppy self.

As for us, we are bracing ourself for the accidental pees in the house, nibbled shoes and furnitures. It will be fine. Spring will be almost here. 

Working on my inner cocker spaniel

It is said that, after a while, puppies and their owners tend to look alike. This week, out of utter dedication, I made a decisive step toward canine condition, as I found out I had an ear inflammation. My physician prescribed antibiotic drops and recommended that I would tilt my head when applying them so that they would reach out the irritated area – the same advices our vet gave us in similar circumstances. Cockers spaniels often need ear drops…

So I spent a week surrounded with haze – sounds would reach me beyond a padded distance. It is also painful. Aleve does its work but at night, my ear still wakes me up. So I will confess it. I also used some stronger medicine leftover from the prescription made by my dentist earlier this month after he pulled out one of my premolars.

Which leads me to some vernacular translation. In France, when you get hurt, you cry “aïe” (pronounced “i”). I took me a little while to realize that in the US, you should utter “ouch”.

Another notable difference with France: how to get your medicine. In France, pharmacies are stores of their own, usually painted with green colors as it goes with its national ensign, a green cross. You bring your prescription and you don’t have to wait or come back: the pharmacist straightaway brings up and gives you the box of the medicine you need. No counting of pills.  The first time I needed a prescription when I started living in the US, I was puzzled by the statement “it will be ready in one hour”. How come picking up a box on a shelf required this amount of time???

My ear is now healing – to my relief. After improving my listening skills this summer during my internship at the hospital, not being able to simply hear properly was frustrating! And I now care for two sets of silky furry ears with a renewed compassion.