Norte

 When Bela died, I thought it would be a long time before we were ready to have another dog in our family.  The pain was too raw, too fresh and she was and is irreplaceable, for sure.  Still, our routine was totally thrown off when suddenly we weren't going for our twice daily walks; and although not having a dog was (I am ashamed to even admit it in writing) liberating to some extent, all three of us were in need of canine company.

Toward the end of my Christmas vacation we began talking seriously about getting another dog.  At first we thought maybe we'd adopt an older dog to avoid the hassle of puppyhood...but the more I looked online and the more we thought about it, the more it felt as though getting a big dog, would actually feel like trying to replace Bela--it would be like putting a band-aid on a gaping wound.

We decided that a puppy would ultimately adjust better to our family because it would really be a part of the family rather than ours just being another home.  Don't get me wrong.  I am all for adopting animals and I know plenty of people who have adopted great pets.  I love the idea of giving abandoned animals a second chance in life, but it can be risky to a certain extent.  You don't know the animal's history or what might trigger agressive behaviour (towards humans or other animals), and with a small child, we decided that risk was too great.  Besides, getting a puppy would mean that it would grow up with Emily.  Bela was great with Emily, but she sort of treated her like a piece of furniture: she was totally indifferent to her presence.  A dog that grows up with Emily will ultimately be a better friend and companion for her.

So at the beginning of January the search for a puppy began...

We wanted another lab, but decided that we would get a completely different dog from Bela: a yellow male.  Little Norte (we vetoed Emily's name ideas: "Mari Paz", "Cocodrila", "Prince Tree") came home with us on January 11th.  He's almost three months old now, but it turns out that even though he'd had his first shot before we bought him, the breeder had given him such a bare bones vaccination that he may as well not have had it at all!  That means we still cannot take him out on walks where he'll be in contact with other dogs because he's highly suceptible to viruses that are common among grown dogs and can be fatal for puppies.  We gave him his first "real" shot on Wed, because he had a bout of diarrhea after we first brought him home and we didn't want to overload his little system.  As it is it'll be nearly March before we can take him on walks because his little body takes about 15 days to build up the immunity after the shot and he needs still another one before he's all covered!

Thankfully, he's a very agreeable and fairly calm little fellow.  Of course, as he gets older he's going to need to spend that puppy energy...so I think we'll be just very narrowly avoiding disaster with his vaccination schedule.  At four months we'll finally be able to wear him out among the olive trees. :)  For now, though he's happy to be inside and really spends most of his time sleeping on his bed.  He has a few toys and so far limits himself to playing/chewing them.  And after just two or three days of mopping up puppy pee in the house, he's learned to go outside in the patio.  I am only a little worried that because he needs to be quarantiened for so long that he'll develop the unbreakable habbit of taking care of his "business" in the patio--yuck! :(

Emily was a little luke warm about Norte at first because puppies are so different from adult dogs and he has very sharp teeth and claws. If he nipped at her or her things she'd begin to cry saying, "I want a big dog!  I don't want a puppy!"... but she's warming up to him now and learning to be patient and also assertive with him when he bites her ballet tutús. ;)  This will be a good experience for her, and I know that in the end Norte is going to be a really great buddy.  So there you have it.  We are officially, once again, a family of four. :)