Puppy Love

Rusty has become a beloved member of our family...for most of us, that is. The kids can't wait to see him when they wake up in the morning, and squeal excitedly when he comes inside after spending the day in the garage with Nate. They run around with him in the backyard, run around with him inside, and dutifully bring him dog toys when he starts to gnaw on the furniture. Nate's having a great time with his canine companion. They've gone on walks together, played ball in the backyard, and become great pals.

As for me, I am tolerating the puppy. It's hard to see past the accidents, chewing damage, barking and general disorder that seems to have become the new norm. But he seems like a good fit for the kids and for Nate, so if he could become a little better behaved, I think my opinion of him would improve. I hear that happens for dogs around 2 years old... and I've also heard that it will get worse before it gets better. So only 22 months to go!

Rusty bonded with Nate right away.

Reading and napping...

Enjoying an appropriate chew toy.

All tuckered out.

Chewing on a basket...one of the many things he likes to sink his teeth into around the house.

Getting to know his Grandmom.

Rowan investigates the puppy's ears.

He loves to snuggle up next to his human.

Rusty fell asleep one night while Nate was holding him, and
Rowan took the opportunity to examine him with his doctor kit tools.
(Silas is checking the weather on Nate's phone, one of Si's favorite things to do.)

Rowan bundles up for a snowy morning in March.

Rusty's first snow!

Leo has been avoiding Rusty like the plaque, but in the past few days he's gotten slightly bolder.
This is the first time he didn't bolt when he saw Rusty, even through the door. It's made life tricky though, because Leo still needs to be fed and cared for. We found that Rusty likes cat food as much as dog food, leaves, straw, stuffed animals, and everything else he puts in his mouth. So Leo has to be sneaky to get a meal in. But so far we're managing!

A boy and his puppy, playing with the hose. Don't get any better than that!

Welcoming A Puppy Into the Family

We'll always remember "Leap Day" as the day we brought our puppy home!

We first met him on February 11th at the foster family's home when he was a wee 5 weeks old, and waited 3 weeks until we could bring home to join our family. Although it felt like a long wait, it was productive time as we gathered supplies and read about how to care for and train a puppy. Nate was also traveling during the last two weeks, so the timing was perfect.

The puppy is a Lab-mix whose mom was a rescue from Virginia (the organization was called Mostly Muttz Rescue, although we first saw him on petfinder.com). We're not sure what the father was, but we're beginning to suspect he was a hound breed. The mom was a tan lab, but only one of her puppies looked like her; the rest were a mix of black and brown like ours, and all-white with brown over the eyes. We chose our puppy from among his brothers and sisters because of the coloring on his face and for his laid-back personality.

Without further ado, we would like to introduce Rusty!

This was Rusty the day we meet him at 5 weeks old.

Rusty was ready to come home with us on Leap Day when he turned 8 weeks old.
We almost named him "Leap" because of the special date.

We decided on "Rusty" because of the coloring on his face and legs,
and because we wanted a name with a strong beginning sound and a vowel sound
on the end (recommended by the Monks of New Skete, the dog experts).He has some big paws, so we'll see how big he gets! 

For weeks Rowan had been asking, "When my puppy coming?" in his cute little toddler voice.
He was so excited when we finally brought Rusty home!

Rusty bonded with the kids right away. 

Silas was at school during the day, so he didn't get to see Rusty until he came home
in the afternoon. Although Silas seemed initially excited about the puppy,
he seems more interested in causing the dog mischief than
actually playing with him.

Nate's been dutifully attending to the task of taking Rusty out throughout the day.
Nate is our pack leader, and he'll be doing all of Rusty's training. 

Good dog!