Champion of My HeartA real-time memoir about life with a fearful border collie, by Roxanne Hawn

Don’t get too excited. We are NOT getting a puppy. Really. We’re not.  But, I wanted to share a little more puppy porn with you, including video that may include a new candidate for the still-open position as Lilly’s best, best dog friend. It’s a job (and I do mean “job”) that’s been open since her dear friend Katie, the borzoi, moved away.

Our Little Golden Retriever Friends

First, let’s continue with our tale of Nadi’s litter of Golden Retriever puppies. I got to visit the whole crew on Saturday, and suffice it to say that if you think managing one puppy is hard, then the reality of EIGHT teething, active monkeys is something else entirely.

They collectively nibbled on me for nearly an hour. A couple of them proved easier to redirect to toys than others. Some remained downright determined to unzip my coat, attack my hands and feet, and steal anything they could as a plaything. That included a tissue out of my pocket and shreds of the clean puppy pad I used for seating.

I kid you not, two of them nibbled a hole in the hip seam of my jeans while I was attempting to deal with the other six. It’s a good thing I wore my oldest, heavily patched dog jeans for the visit.

I also learned that 7-week-old puppies are MUCH harder to photograph than 2-week-old or even 5-week-old puppies.

This is “Fatty,” whose family has named Chuck. I tried and tried to get a good shot, but he was VERY interested in the camera, so I switched to close-up mode, but all of those turned out WAY blurry.

It was great to see them, but … boy, was I tired (and sore) afterward. One family specifically wanted the most active pup, and let me just say for the record … be careful what you ask for. She is all that AND more.

The pups go to their new families Easter weekend. I hope to sneak in one last puppy-palooza on Friday evening to say my goodbyes.

A New Canine Neighbor

I won’t spill the beans for very local readers who may not know, but one of our neighbors will be bringing home a German Wirehaired Pointer pup in the coming weeks. Here is a link to a little video the breeder sent them recently. Since the breeder matches the pups based on applicants’ dog resumes, we don’t know yet which of the girls from this litter will be theirs. (Watch the one hopping around alone in the back. Too funny.)

But, perhaps Lilly will accept this potential new best, best friend candidate (or, I guess I should say … will she accept Lilly). Maybe they’ll become good pals like Dog Geek’s B and her German Shorthaired Pointer friend.

(I’m trying not to get my hopes up, though, since our recent attempts to find new/local pals for Lilly have failed.)

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