This is our latest addition to “the farm.” We’re going to call her Kaylee both for the Serenity reference and because it’s a pretty and distinctive word that’s unlike my cat’s names.
She is a 50-50 Akbash/Maremma mix. She was born on July 2, 2013 in a litter of 9. All the pups were healthy and strong. I met them all at the All Creatures vet clinic on Hwy 62 when the breeder brought them down from her place in Tiller, OR, for their first shots. My only previous experience at vets was with my cats, all of whom hated every second, complained loudly and, in the case of Isa, fought to the death to prevent being touched. Seriously, one vet had to resort to “the clam” to restrain the cat and had the tech wear horsehide gloves that went almost up to her shoulders to prevent bites and scratches.
No, these nine pups, 20 – 24 pounds each, were silent, calm and curious. I helped the breeder bring them in one at a time for a brief examination, initial weighing, and a single cocktail shot for basic puppy immunization. We then all drove to my place so she could let them all run around and poop and pee for the trip back home. Two seemed to like me more than the others. One was already spoken for, but it was ok, i was leaning towards the other one after about 20 minutes of watching them cavort. I wrote her a check, we loaded 8 pups back into her van, and she departed.
At first the new pup paid no attention to the fact her litter-mates were no longer around. She happily followed me up the driveway to the doublewide sniffing all the new smells as she went. She flounced around inside for about 30 minutes before falling sound asleep where she had earlier been sitting.
When she woke up about two hours later she looked around and was clearly disoriented. Her reaction, though, was not what i expected. She got up and walked to the door and looked down toward the field where she had last seen her buddies. I let her out and she calmly walked to the gate and stood there. I opened the gate and she calmly walked through it and proceeded to walk straight back to the field without so much as a backward glance. She got to the field and sat silently. I watched her from up the driveway. She just sat there. Watching.
After about 5 minutes i walked down and stood beside her. She did her puppy thing… licking my feet, acting all cute, but she didn’t follow me up to the house. I had to coax her to come with me; she clearly didn’t want to leave her post.
But she come along she did… even ran after me a couple of times. That was Tuesday. It’s now Friday and she comes running when i call. I want to believe she knows some kind of mile marker has been passed and that this new place is hers. Each morning and afternoon we walk the loop of the driveway. She walks along with me the whole way stopping only to sniff things now and then. With leash and without her behavior is the same: walks until she finds something interesting then stops to investigate.
It’s a whole new experience for me… never had a dog before. Never even met a dog like this before. I’ve yet to hear her bark. She’s clearly still a puppy, but she’s so calm and deliberate. For the first time in a while i’m excited about the future; to see how life unfolds for this new addition.