Happy New Year and Happy Adoption Day

Happy New Year, everyone! I wasn't crazy about 2009, but I have to say the best thing that happened last year was adopting our latest dog, Wynter. I'll admit we had a rocky start, and I have the scar on my forehead to prove it. Adopting a dog during the cold weather is difficult, especially a dog as active as Wynter. But we managed, and by spring she was trained on the invisible fence, so she can go out and run around as much as she wants.

We call Jasmine and Wynter "Beauty and the Beast." Jasmine is a smaller dog, lean, and graceful. Wynter is a brute who doesn't seem to know her own size. We can hear her thundering up and down the stairs in the morning, in the hopes that someone will play with her. She hoovers her food down and will eat Jasmine's, too, if we don't separate them during meal time.

Wynter loves company, and has to be with someone all day. She lays at my feet while I work, and will "talk" to me when she wants me to pay attention to her. Wynter knows when we're talking about her, even when she's in another room - we'll mention her name, only to hear the thump, thump, thump of her tail.

Wynter has her health issues. She had puppies and was spayed young, so she is now incontinent. She also had allergies, which we found out after several ear infections, pink eye, and incessant licking finally led the vet to figure out the problem. So she takes Benadryl and incontinence meds, and she is doing just fine.

We've also noticed some funny personality quirks. Wynter loves critters. She will sit in the same spot for hours, staring at a hole on the side of the house, hoping that whatever chipmunk or mole that ran into that refuge will come out. She remembers where her chewbones are, and you can sense the conflict when we call her - do I leave them? do I stay? As soon as we release her again, she immediately runs back to that spot, relieved that nothing has happened to her beloved bone. We attribute some of her behaviors to being a former stray, when she had to be extremely protective of her food and her home for her own survival. We don't know what she experienced prior to being rescued, but we respect these quirks in her, and they have lessened as she grew more trusting of us.

Wynter is a joy and constant source of entertainment. It's really hard to put into words Wynter's energy and personality, so the best way is to let you see it for yourself:

Happy Adoption Day, Wynter!