Homecomings

Vacation was great fun, and I certainly have more pictures and stories to share in the coming days. But the trip will forever be remembered as the one we couldn't wait to end. As good as it was, we had a very special event to look forward to upon our return home.

Welcome, Gustav the Golden! (a.k.a. Gus)

We'd been planning to pick him up Monday evening, but realized the only one who wouldn't be excited to get Gus early is the cat, and she doesn't get to vote. So we cleaned and puppy-proofed the house as much as possible, set up the kennel, and then set off to welcome the newest member of our family.

Gus actually seemed to remember us. When we arrived, a bunch of puppies gathered at the gate. The breeder worked her way in and set about with her scanner, which can read the microchip implanted in each puppy, identifying who belongs to whom. The puppies turned their attention to her, following her across the kennel. All except one who remained at the gate staring at us.

As she scanned puppy after puppy unsuccessfully, she commented that she'd put a blue collar on our dog. I looked down and sure enough, the puppy whose focus never wavered from us was the one with a blue collar. It was as if he knew we were there for him.

At seven weeks and one day, Gus weighs nine pounds. For a puppy, he's actually pretty mellow. He loves to snuggle, and hasn't nipped too many times. House-training could prove to be a challenge. Whenever we take him outside he tends to just lay down. (We made it five hours before the first accident, and at least it was on the wood floor, not carpet.)

AJ has been incredibly attentive and helpful. We've talked about how much work it is to train a puppy, and he's taking the responsibility seriously. He's done a good job keeping an eye on Gus in the house, and has sat outside with him more than I have. The breeder warned AJ to not encourage Gus to chase him, because soon Gus will be big enough to unintentionally cause injury. And so AJ has reminded Sydney of that several times. 

The breeder's adult son was there when we picked up Gus, and gave us quite the compliment. As we were preparing to leave, he said he could tell Gus would be well-trained and cared for, based on how well-behaved AJ and Sydney were. (I told him our previous dog deserved some of the credit, because it was on her that we first practiced our parenting skills.) 

Meanwhile, the breeder made a comment that gave me chills. Not knowing our previous dog's name, she said they'd nicknamed Gus "Maggie-man." Apparently the mother dog's sister was named Maggie, and Gus bears a striking resemblance to her.

For all of Gus' sweetness, he is still a puppy. Ironically, his favorite toy isn't any of the dog toys (some new, some hand-me-downs from Maggie), but rather it's a red sand castle building form he snagged from the sandbox. 

He's a special little guy who soon will grow to be a special big guy. Which is only appropriate because in just a few short hours he's grown to fill a very big space in our hearts.