Playing with Banjo in the snow

Playing with Banjo in the snow, originally uploaded by Cat Nine.

Brief pause from running around the yard like maniacs. Very brief pause!

Snowy dog kisses

Snowy dog kisses, originally uploaded by Cat Nine.

Half a second after this picture was taken, Watson did manage to lick my whole face. He's very kissy...

At least they're sitting?

At least they're sitting?, originally uploaded by Cat Nine.

Maybe I'll manage to get a good picture of the two of them before the holidays, but I'm beginning to have my doubts. At least Banjo hasn't eaten his beard...

Watson and I

Watson and I, originally uploaded by Cat Nine.

Bad cell phone pic of our snuggly little guy and I :)

On the porch

First Snow 2 12-09, originally uploaded by Cat Nine.

This is a picture of Watson from this morning. We swung by the vet yesterday to use their scale, so we can officially say that he seems to have settled in nicely to just over 30 pounds. Loretta, Cathy - whichever one of you guessed he'd be a thirty pound dog, you were right on the money :)

I can't get over what a beautiful dog he's become!

First Snow!

First Snow 12-09, originally uploaded by Cat Nine.

Two very playful dogs in the snow. They are about to play, but to my eye they look a little bit like they're doing yoga. Watson was initially a bit taken aback by the snow, but then he figured out that you can eat it...

Busy weekend

It's been a tiring weekend, and the temperature has dropped a bit, so you can see the boys are dealing with that in their cuddly way. Watson seems pretty darn eager to learn during the training, though he keeps trying to outsmart all of us. (It hasn't worked ... yet.) Someday we'll hopefully manage some action shots out and about instead of the late night cell phone picture while we're all falling asleep. You take what you can get, I suppose :)

Delayed gratification?

Long time, no post. As you can see, Watson doesn't fit in my lap nearly as well as he used to, not that that stops him from trying! And our new training classes start Monday night. I don't know how I can take pictures during them, but we'll see what we can do :)

Dog scouts?

On a whim (in front of a clearance rack) the other day, we bought Banjo and Watson matching fishing vests. Relatedly, we're working on stay, which is so handy for picture taking. I include the third picture purely so you can see Watson's adorable tail, and Banjo's adorable lack of tail.

New hobby

This is Watson's new hobby. He stands up against the window, pushes the curtains aside with his paws, and watches the world go by. Today is garbage day, so life is probably about as exciting as it can get :)

Recovery...

Well, Watson's been fixed. As you can see, he's not a huge fan of the cone, or of being in the pen on his own ... which is why I'm there too, and with a glass of wine!

And this is one passed out puppy...

Home again, home again

Isn't he just beautiful? I feel like this picture makes him look like a fifty pound dog, though, when he's less than half that. I think it's that patented 'Noble Hound' expression on his face. I'm sure he's as glad to be home as I am :)

Vacation!

I've been neglecting Watson's blog, but I swear we've been paying lots of attention to him! He seems to have stopped growing an inch a day ;) I put our Happy Tail up on petfinder yesterday with my favorite picture of him so far. We're off on vacation, but more adventures when we return...

http://www.petfinder.com/adoption-stories/index.cgi?story=19581

Where does the time go?

Two sleepy dogs in their natural habitat...their blanket on the couch.

This is Watson trying to look very, very sincere. Also, he looks all nose, which he's really not in person.

What have we been up to...let's see. We did a test board for the boys, together, at our kennel. I wanted to be able to put them in the same room if possible so that Watson doesn't get lonely. He did fabulously! The staff loves him, and he was even an angel about grooming. Also, when he and Banjo came home I noticed they'd started sleeping on each other a lot more, so I think going to "dog camp" was a win all around.

Watson seems huge to me compared to just a few weeks ago. His fur over the shoulders is probably three times as long as it was, and his whole body shape has shifted. I'll try to get some good pictures of him outside so y'all can see his shape. Everywhere we go, people tell us how beautiful he is and ask what kind of dog he is. I've started saying, "All of them!"

Saturday morning we're off to the vet to see if he'll be ready for neutering soon, so we'll also find out how much he weighs now. I'm willing to bet it's a lot more than the last time ;)

The Fourth of July

Here's the little man in his patriotic canine t-shirt.

Blast from the past

This is Watson at a mere five weeks. I feel that the top picture demostrates why he started off as Possum.

Weekend recap

This is Watson trying out the puppy Kong. I have never met a dog before who was so uncertain about peanut butter! I'm sure Banjo will convince him it's the best thing ever soon enough. Also, yes, I did vacuum yesterday. Why do you ask?


And this is what happens most of the time that I try to take a picture of him. We'll just pretend that I was trying to take a picture of his lovely coat.

Photos aside, we had a lovely weekend. We had several walks on Saturday, and figured out that a three foot leash allows plenty of space for slack but keeps him from tying himself up, bolo style, and falling over. He and Banjo spent a good chunk of time hanging out in the yard checking out the landscaping. (AKA eating much grass, any apparently being none the worse for it twenty-four hours later.)

First trip to the vet

We took Watson to visit the fine folks at Emmerson Animal Hospital here in lovely Dorchester. He was downright suspiciously well behaved! Didn't make a peep, charmed everyone totally, happily ate his treats. All he needed was a bordatella booster - everything else was up to date, and he's perfectly healthy. Also, he's 19.8 pounds. I think he may be getting noticeably bigger with every passing day...

I think he knows when you're taking a picture...

He's totally behaving like a fabulously house-trained dog. Good boy! He barks at the door and picks up the leash when he wants out. Also, we think his new name is Watson. The doctor is in!

Singing in the rain...

Well, we've taken a nice long walk in the rain. Possum is not totally convinced concerning: leashes, harnesses, the safety of crosswalks, the intentions of other people on the sidewalk, or Banjo's habit of sniffing everything rather than eating it. But I have great faith that I'll win him over sooner or later.

Canine introductions...

Home!

This dog is all nose!

On our end of the transport!

With Alpha Dog Transport

Doesn't he look like he's in good hands?

On his way to the truck

Here's looking at you, kid...

Possum is still in Tennessee. He'll get put onto the transport tonight, and we meet him tomorrow. Long trip for a small dog! More updates as we have 'em...

Dinner time!

These photos are by Jim, one of Possum's foster folks.

How could anyone resist this face?

This is the first picture we saw of the little guy, on the PAWS website*. Far, far away in Byrdstown, Tennessee. And we're in Boston! But the website says not to let distance stop you, so we crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.

Tell me he doesn't look just chock full of personality :)

Since then, I've seen many more pictures of Possum*, taken by his fabulous foster folks, Loretta and Jim. I'll definitely be posting more of these.


*http://www.pickettpaws.org
**His name is Possum right now. Awesome Possum, we say. We'll choose a name on Saturday when we bring him home!