Over the holidays we got a new puppy. A little girl border collie named Keeper. We had been talking about adding another dog to the mix for a while now, but had gone back and forth as to whether we should actually do it. It went something like this – “No, we’ve got all we need with Jack”, “Yes we should, Jack needs a dog buddy to grow up with” , “No, it might change Jack in a negative way”. Then, last week the opportunity came up to see a litter of unwanted border collie puppies an hour outside of Yosemite and we decided – “Yes, let’s do it”.
Jack and I have been by each other’s side for five years and there’s a certain amount of love and loyalty that comes with that, so it was really important to me that he didn’t feel like he was being replaced or anything (slightly anthropomorphizing here). When we got home, Jack kept his distance, his eyebrows tellingly furrowed with worry whenever she walked past him. But, like all mammals, there are certain introductory rituals that need to take place before a relationship is formed, and we knew it would take a little time before they would feel comfortable around each other.
It’s been a week and we can’t get them to stop playing together. It’s very fun to watch. It took a few days of adjusting, but now they run around our place nipping at each other’s heels and rolling on the floor. They are really different in personality, but meld well together. If Jack is the studious, responsible boy who likes rules and instruction, then she is the energetic, highly intelligent rebellious girl. I can tell already. She likes to sit on my skateboard while it’s rolling and bite the waves in my hair if I lay on the floor. She follows Jack around and growls back at him if he growls at her. When you tell her no, she walks away howling. Her nicknames currently include Youngblood, Amy Whinehouse, and The Teenager. We also call her panda because she tends to look like a fluffy little panda cub.
Welcome to the pack, Keeper! Hope you like learning how to do cool stuff.
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