Russell and I come from the school of thought that, in life, things happen for a reason, and the reason is always revealed in time. This past week was a very difficult week for us. We came to the realization that we were not equipped to have two dogs. There is no other way to say it. No need to get into details as we would not have made this heartbraking decision without giving it a whole lot of thought. So, sweet Maxine was returned to Nathan and Darlah, our breeders. What we want is to care for Cooper wholeheartedly, fully, completely, and give him the best life that he deserves. And we know that we can do that. We also know Maxine is well taken care of with Nathan and Darlah until her forever home is found.
So what did we do with Cooper this week: we played retrieve and he is very good at it. He also learned how to do a "high five". We practiced the various commands and he is now much better with Sit, Stay, Come and Down. On Thursday, we went for a nice long walk in downtown Oakville. He truly is a "chick magnet". Women adore him and just want to pat him. Even one older senior man said he was a cutie. Truly, everywhere we go, he gets the attention. We particularly like to plan our afternoon walks with the end of the school day so that he gets to see all the high school children leaving to go home. Many of them will stop and ask if they can pat him. On Friday, we took him to the Vet for a general health check. That was a first experience for us, not for Cooper. He did very well, the Vet could not get over how well socialized he was and how quiet he was when he put him on the examining table. Although he thought Cooper was taller than the norm for Havanese, he liked the fact that he is very lean, which is a good thing. He weighed in at 5.4 kg. The Vet was very nice, he took the time to answer all our questions. We are planning to have Cooper neutered in February - ouch!
Today, we took Cooper to Doggie Central, the Garage, in Mississauga. This was our first time there. We took him to the Small Dog Play session, where dogs of all breeds gather to play, without a leash, indoors. For some reason, today Cooper was the only dog there so he had the whole place to himself. He hurdled, ran like crazy, played retrieve with us and ran through an agility tube. He had a lot of fun, we were there for one hour and I can tell you that he was dead tired at the end of the play session. We plan on doing this from time to time as it will give Cooper exposure to a different environment, and other dogs (although none today). It was a lot of fun for all of us. As I am writing this blog, Cooper is crashed out on the floor, but have no fear....he will wake up for dinner in 15 minutes or so....the second he hears the food bowl and measuring cup.
Russell is getting better following his fall but he had to get more treatments than we anticipated. He is getting some acupuncture, ART, physio, the whole nine yards. His range of motion is getting better but he is not quite there yet.
On the log home front, we went to Washago and Huntsville yesterday. We first had a meeting with Matt and Ali and went to the Yard where our log home is being built. The build is coming along very nicely. It is very impressive to see the detailed work in those logs - Matt is a true artisan and a master carpenter. Then we went to our lot to look at the finished foundation which is ready for inspection this week. Huntsville had 6 centimetres of snow. This was Cooper's first time walking in snow. He hopped through the snow like a jackrabbit, bouncing up and down, while gathering little snowballs on his hair which he nibbled on as an added source of water. Quite funny to watch. I must shop for a little fur coat to protect him from the cold.
So things are progressing as planned, and we expect the log shell to be erected on the foundation in January. 2012 will be a great year!
Sorry to hear about Maxine, but you're right that things happen for a reason. Hope Russell is feeling much better soon...Rolly.
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