Two Leonbergers and Just One Ball

We have two of everything in the house now. But it doesn't matter.
We have two identical dog toys of every type.
No matter what we do, whatever one puppy has, that is what the other puppy wants. It reminds me so much of having little children I can't even tell you.


But funnier. Much much funnier.


In any case, we gave up on the two toys idea. And purchased a single, little crocheted ball.


As you might imagine, this is now the very most favorite toy in the house.

My Beautiful Beloved

We know which puppy is to be ours from the first litter!

CaraBella Mia, 7 weeks

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Mandolin Trails CaraBella Mia! Isn't she just the cutest thing you ever saw? :)

We had a time coming up with the name. Leonberger tradition required us to choose a name beginning with a "C" for her registered name (as is required for all the puppies in this particular litter). We ran through a bunch - Mandolin Trails Carolina Cadence (we would have called her Cady), Mandolin Trails Cream in my Coffee (we just loved this one, but couldn't get anywhere with it), Mandolin Trails Caramel Latte (we would have called her Cara), and several others. But it was pretty easy to settle on CaraBella Mia when we learned which girl would be ours.

Our breeder has told us that this little pup looks very much like her mother looked when she was tiny. They even nicknamed her "Mini Me" when they were playing with the pups. The mother is named Absolutely Arabella, and so we will call our little girl Bella, in honor of her momma (see here).

We go to Virginia to get Bella on December 11th and are pretty excited to bring her home. We understand that she is a very busy puppy, into everything, learning things first and fast, at the front of the line, bossing the other puppies around, talking nonstop. Very much the Queen Bee, and exactly as she should be!

We still have lots to do, so today means a trip to the pet store. This week we will measure some things and buy some gates. We might be rearranging some furniture. Fun, right?! Based on how Max and Gracie engage with Zuko when he comes to visit, I expect that they will be best friends in no time at all, but this is certainly going to be interesting and keep Mr. Bryant and I busy busy. We are planning out the first week with schedules and such, since I have to work out of the home - and even travel, dang it. But the following two weeks I am 100% home, as is Mr. Bryant. In the new year we should have a reasonably flexible schedule, which will be perfect. And in mid to late January, we will be bringing home our second puppy to be Bella's BFF!

Our little boy puppy is growing beautifully as well, you can see pictures here.

Sometimes it all just takes my breath away. Bella's picture was the first puppy picture that caught my eye on the Mandolin Trails web site, when she was only 8 days old.


I asked our breeder about her, but I never thought that she would come home with us. I didn't want a "pick of the litter." We don't plan to do conformation, we have no interest in breeding puppies - and perfect dogs (and cats!) need to breed so their characteristics are gifted back into the blood lines. We do plan to do obedience and would love to go to Companion Dog; maybe Rally - but a smart dog will really enjoy these activities, and doesn't need to be a "pick of the litter" from a breed standard perspective. So we just wanted a fabulous wonderful delightful smart loving pet. A pet that would be loving to the family, get along with other pet, love the kids, play lots. A pet that would be part of the family, really. Perfect for us. Bella looked so perfect to me in the pictures that I was sure she was going to someone that would show her, maybe even take her to Westminster.

But each time I looked at the next week of pictures, my eyes stopped at Bella. She made me smile. The breeder talked about her energy, how she was going to be a singer, how she talked so much, how she was a cuddler. I showed pictures of her around, but also looked at all the puppies, knowing that any one of them would be perfect for us. And yet, Bella is the puppy that our breeder chose for us! And she sounds like the very perfect one. Synchronicity. A larger plan at work. A glimpse into the divine movement behind all things. A blessing.

Makes me stop and be thankful for just how amazingly lucky we are, in the midst of everything.

Should be a pretty darned interesting holiday!

Life Moving

When we last talked I was doing some traveling for work. That travel cut into my updating time and into my "real life." I love seeing my friends and colleagues across the country in a face to face setting. We have the opportunity to be more casual in our interaction and to get to know each other better. However, I hate travel - planes are uncomfortable no matter where you sit, other people are everywhere, leaning over your book, interrupting your thoughts, listening to your phone calls, gazing at you from across the aisles - and that doesn't even account for the security lines and checks, the indignity of being treated with complete disregard, and the lack of trust. Add in the unsanitary public rest rooms and the rudeness of fellow passengers, and you have a perfectly dreadful experience. Yuk.


So glad to be home, folks. So very glad.

Getting back home meant catching up on everything. While I was gone, Mr. Bryant and Mr. Rentschler were working on the new old pick up truck, and did some very cool work on the engine.


They also replaced the horn and Mr. Rentschler was able to drive home in the very cool 66.


Mr. Bryant had been working diligently on the fence and made some good progress. And plans were in place for Mr. Bryant senior to come down to Charlotte on a Friday and spend a day and night for visit and a trip to the car show!

We cleaned up and organized the guest room and got a brand new bed in preparation. The kittens love the new bed, especially since it provides an unfettered view of the parakeets!!! They enjoy watching them, and as long as we are in the room with them all is well.


Mr. Bryant senior slept quite well in the guest room, and our cousins enjoyed the suite above the garage. The trip to the car show was excellent fun, and the visiting afterward lasted late into the evening. We had an amazing four course breakfast and then our company went off in search of more adventures. Meanwhile, Mr. Bryant went outside and finished a pergola.

He is working diligently. He wants to have the fence and all gates completed before Christmas. He is feeling the pressure more than we expected, because over the course of the last five days we made a decision.

***


It has been almost 10 years since we have had a big dog around here. We have, of course, our wonderful Gizmo, who has become a fabulous friend to the new kittens.


And we have our new kittens, that make us laugh ever single day. But we have always had big dogs, and we have missed big dogs since we lost Chrissie, and we have been talking about dogs for years now. So with the advent of the fence we began some dog research.

We looked at Bernese Mountain Dogs. Greater Swiss Mountain Dogs. Kuvasz. Great Pyrenees. And then we found the Leonbergers. We had never heard of them, and as we began to do our research, we were both enamored. The Leo's are big dogs, rare dogs, very athletic. They swim, have webbed feet and layered coats (like our Newf), and are very intelligent.

***

On Sunday, after all that cleaning and buying and organizing and visiting and eating, we went to meet some Leonbergers at Mandolin Trails Kennel in Virginia.

What amazing and wonderful dogs. They had longer legs than we expected, and fantastic personalities. We visited with the owners and talked dogs for quite a long time. After getting home we really reflected on dogs, what we wanted, what kind of dog we wanted, our favorite characteristics. We talked about how many dogs we wanted, and why, and talked about how much we missed Chrissie, Buck, and Tony.


We talked about why now was the right time to get a dog - or two. And when we came to a conclusion, we called Mandolin Trails and asked about getting one of their female puppies in December - and are working with other breeders to find a male puppy to get quite soon as well.

!!!!

Take a look at this lovely laughing momma.


And then, these two leos - one a youngster and one much older - and their patience as they obey the "LOOK" command from their owner, rather than much on the tempting treat that is on their paw. :)


So it looks like we will need that fence soon, and we will be heading back up to Virginia in December to get our first Christmas Present. We have been busy this month!

For the rest of today I am going to take it easy, as Max and I work on our plans for NaNoWriMo.