November 1, 2013

White Dog paced impatiently until FINALLY we humans and the White Dog Army were ready. We were on a special mission...off to bring home our newest recruit, Bella E. Premuroso, Tiny White Dog, TWD! Farmington, where she was being fostered is a little over a three-hour drive but first we had to stop for a few necessities: a tag for her collar with the WDA ID information (we would not dream of traveling with any pup lacking such vital info) and a safety harness (none of the WDA was ever as tiny as she is, so we had none "in stock"). WD had already supervised the refilling of the car's water bowl; had gathered treats to share; and made sure all of the necessary paperwork was in the car.

We weren't on the road quite an hour when YoYoMa indicated his need to stop. "I thought I told every pup to go BEFORE we left the house," WD groused. To Steve, "I guess you better find a good place to pull off the road; don't want him lifting his leg in here." She glared at her brother. Of course, once we stopped, EVERY ONE needed to stretch and eliminate...including Her Highness.

It was along drive but the day was pleasant and the scenery spectacular. Taiko had bartered to trade seating with Oso and now was king of the backseat where he could look out the windows. Oso found a spot on the floor against the front seats which was canopied with overhang from White Dog's throne. It was like a private nap tent; the rhythm of the wheels on the road soon had our oldest boy snoring.

When we arrived, Steve went inside the house while I waited on the drive with the White Dog Army.

The anticipation was hard to contain and when Steve came out and placed Bella in my arms, the WDA hung out of the open windows and welcomed their new sister. Steve let them out to greet Bella.

It was a little unnerving for the new girl, to have such interest shown. She is basically VERY shy. Bella finished her "hellos" from inside my jacket and the rest of the Army politely gave her space.

She relaxed enough on the drive back to Albuquerque to sleep for a bit.

At home the WDA showed her the essentials...the water bowl...her new food dish (she even ate)...and comfy places to sleep. It was dark so the dog door lesson has been saved for daylight. 

Bella chose to spend the night in the open crate in the office and at some point Puff crawled in and curled up with her. This morning, the new girl was in Quinn's favorite space, the bed in Steve's closet in the office. Oso chose to sleep the night in Nuka's small round bed that we placed in our bedroom thinking it might be perfect for Bella.  

There is still lots for Bella to explore and learn and she is incredibly timid. But she DID muster the courage to growl a short request to the her brothers to show more respect and less sniffing. The WDA seems to understand she needs time to adjust to all the newness...even to the point of White Dog allowing Bella to hide in WD's spot behind the watching chair; from there she can peek out and watch us and can dart in and out as her bravery builds. 

We are on at the beginning of a lovely journey that now includes our beautiful and caring new girl, and thanks to Stella and Rory's mum, Tiny White Dog already has "her" song.