This past week brought the newest addition to our family, Spicy. We picked her up at Darlah and Nathan's last Thursday, with the Coop in tow. Russell and I couldn't be happier and Cooper is adapting very well to sharing his Kingdom with her. Let me give you a little bit of her background (thanks Darlah for this).
Spicy was born on October 27, 2010. Her registered name is Talemaker's Spicy Chipotle. She completed her Canadian Championship at 8 months of age. She has had the most beautiful puppies over the years. She is outgoing, fun loving and very playful, a true combination of her mom Wasabi and her dad Katsura. She is also very agile. Oh, and she loves giving kisses. She is a serious licker, and I'm not exaggerating. Darlah had warned us about her being kissy kissy and waggy tail but we never thought in a million years that she would be so kissy! Every morning, before we get out of bed, Russell and I both get a face bath, literally, and we laugh our hearts out. What a beautiful way to wake up in the morning. Oh, we also get kisses from the Coop. So double the kisses!
We weren't sure how Cooper would react at first although he knows Spicy well. Darlah & Nathan knew that they got along having observed them play together at their house. This match would not have happened otherwise. Having said this, you never know how things will go until you're home. To our great pleasure, everyone is getting alone nicely. There are no issues whatsoever. Sometimes they play, sometimes they do their own thing. Spicy has already found some favorite spots in our home....one of them happens to be Cooper's so they share it (the photo below of them sharing the blanket on the living room couch). Very heartwarming to watch. We do believe though that getting lots of attention and being spoiled silly is helping with the transition :-)
As with Cooper, I plan on doing some training with Spicy. Today, I found some basic agility equipment that we had in Huntsville. In the next few days, I will try it out with the Spicy. I think Cooper will also enjoy getting back into it. We make sure that we give equal amount of attention to both Cooper and Spicy. We had some little rituals with Cooper that we decided to continue. One of them is to "play with the balls". Each morning, we fill two treat balls with tiny pieces of cookies (I mean tiny) and put them in a ball that he rolls around until the treats fall out. So far, Spicy doesn't seem to care for this little game but that's OK. She is happy to watch the Coop push a ball around. We will come up with a little ritual for Spicy.
I could go on and on about our new family. We love them both to pieces and feel truly blessed to have them in our lives. Our family is complete. Twice the love, twice the fun. Some people will say twice the work, we don't see it that way. Even if it is work, it is good work. Russell now brushes two sets of teeth in the morning and two full Havanese coats.
Our little in-home boarding venture will still happen. We have to update our website to add words about Spicy and we will wait a few weeks before launching it. We want to give ourselves a little time to get into a routine with our two pooches.
I'd like to say that not much else is going on with us but that's not the case. While we were in Toronto last week, my mom fell and fractured her hip. She has been in the hospital since waiting for surgery tomorrow. This couldn't have happened at a worse time, 10 days before their move to the retirement residence. Such is life and the move will still happen. I suspect that my mom will be in rehab for a few weeks so, as she said to me today, she will not get to see their current condo anymore. Her spirits are good though. We are praying for a successful surgery and recovery. My dad is also a trooper and managing the best he can. All will be good.
I leave you with photos of...you guessed it, Cooper and Spicy. I wish you all a great week, leading up to Canada Day weekend.
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| Spicy has settled in at the table on the back deck! |
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| Spicy says...OK, I will pose but where are the treats. |
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| OK...I get it, for one more treat the other profile. |
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| Coop and Spicy, chant we want treats, come on Mom. |
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| Spicy and Coop love "change the bedsheets day"...or as they call it, let us nest for awhile! |
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| Cooper and Spicy love to settle in to a good chew along with some Aislin cartoons. |
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| Spicy says, see I told you Coop, there is room for two on this blanket. |
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| Homeward bound departing Camp Talemaker with precious cargo...two awesome Havanese. |
Thanks for sharing the photos & stories.. I enjoy them so much. I am sure as Spice gets accustomed to her new home and her buddy Cooper life will be wonderful. Spice is such a happy gal.
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