2 weeks to go

Two more weeks until I can bring the puppy home. We went to visit today, and the change in just 3 weeks is amazing. They went from around 8 pounds to 22 pounds and they are lengthening out in their bodies, legs and muzzles. More personality is showing, although some haven't changed much from 3 weeks old. As soon as I can figure out how to get the pictures off the phone, I'll post them.

I'm just so excited.

Can't Resist

I know you're probably sick of puppies, puppies, puppies, but they're like potato chips.
And I love these little eyes too much to keep them to myself.

Four weeks-ish and counting 'til I get to take mine home. I don't know which one's mine yet, but so far I'd take any one of them.

More puppies and a sweater

What a difference just one week makes. They're already 2 pounds heavier and their faces and bodies are starting to take shape. Only 150+/- pounds to go!

Worked my fingers to the bone to have BubbaLou's new sweater done for this. On the good side, it didn't rain like last year. On the bad side, it was WAY to hot to wear a sweater. It was almost too hot for long pants, but we survived. BL had loads of fun on the rides, but was sad she's still too small for the tilt-a-whirl. I wish my only disappointment was not getting to ride the big rides. Tough life for an almost 4 year old.

Here's the sweater. Cascade Sierra, cotton/merino blend. I got the two skeins of pink for 40% off, and was given the skein of blue. What can I say? Ya work with what ya got. Washer and dryer friendly, with good "bounce" to the yarn/stitches. Very kid friendly and tough as nails. Her other "sierra" sweater is going on its 3rd? year...it's a little short in places, but she wont' give it up. Needless to say, we've really tested the wash/dry factor.

Puppies!

I went to visit the puppies on Saturday. I didn't want to leave. They are the cutest little things...their eyes are open, they can hear now, and teeth are starting to show up. Soft little bundles of furry love, who doesn't love a puppy? With these dogs, though, you have to love them full grown more than as a puppy. Check out here to get a better idea of what a full grown IW really means. I was visiting the 4 full grown dogs in the yard, and let me tell you, it is quite an experience to have 4 of these dogs running full speed toward you. They are gentle and agile and won't run into you, but it sounds like a freight train comin' at you. Simply amazing.

It's very sad how many Irish Wolfhounds end up in shelters and rescue situations because "I didn't know how big he'd get" or "I didn't realize how much he'd eat." They are also not the kind of dog you can just let out unattended, they're sight hounds and will chase things for long distances if not fenced in (real fences, not invisible ones.) Needless to say, a lot of these dogs get lost, dehydrated, malnourished and hopefully rescued. We're already thinking our next IW (in about a year or so) might be a rescue/adoption dog. It would depend on his/her situation since there's a small-ish kiddo in the house, but I'd really like to do a rescue. All my previous animals have come from an animal shelter and if I can help keep one animal out of there, I consider it a good deed.

So, in the words of Bob Barker, please spay or neuter your animals. Educate yourself about what you're getting into before bringing an animal home. Also, please support your local animal shelter. Most of them love your old towels and blankets, especially fleece and they love Walmart gift cards to buy the everyday stuff. Mine prefers gift cards over food so that they can keep the animals on a consistent, healthy diet (it helps reduce the intestinal issues frequently found in shelters.) Treats and toys are always welcome, too. Let's all do what we can to keep more animals from being euthanized every day. One of our local pet stores has recently stopped selling dogs and cats and I personally congratulated them. They now have signs in their cages asking you to please consider adopting an animal from a local shelter. One small step closer to eliminating puppy mills and overbreeding, and a step towards less animals in shelters.

Okay, I'll get off my soapbox now. Thank you for reading!

Too Cute!

Picture of one of the new puppies, now almost 3 weeks old. We're going for a visit on Saturday. They'll be about 30-35 pounds when they come home around 10 weeks and I really want to see them when they're teeny-tiny.I mean, really, who doesn't love a sleeping puppy?