Callie

A few weeks ago Katie sent me this picture from Patriot Lab Rescue:

This picture was accompanied by a description of a dog in need of a home. It said, in part:

"Yellow Labx -- wgt approx 55 lbs, 7 months old. Cheyenne is a 7 month old yellow lab/Great Pyrenees mix. is she not one of the prettiest girls you have ever seen? Cheyenne is the best girl! She loves other doggies and likes to play with kitties. Cheyenne is for sure man's best friend..."

You get the idea.

After a brief discussion we agreed that the time was right to add four more paws of love to our expanding brood. Katie had a 30 minute phone interview with Ellen, the director of the Rescue League who in turn directed us to the foster mother that currently was housing the puppy. Another 30 minute phone call later and Katie called back and told them that we feel this would be a good addition to our family and that we would like to proceed with the adoption.

When we woke up the next day there was an e-mail from Ellen stating, "I got your email. Jennie or I will be sending you the contract/payment info tomorrow so Cheyenne can hop the transport Saturday morning!"

We were getting a new puppy - from Tennessee, no less.

The first transport was a no-go, due to the fact that the first driver broke her arm. Undaunted, we were reschedule for the next weekend. We were to meet the driver in Auburn at a location TBD on Sunday, July 15th after 6PM. Finally, the driver called us and said he would arrive "by 7:30 or so". We decided we'd rather wait there than at home so we drove out to Auburn where we waited at our designated meeting place - Arby's parking lot - for our puppy to arrive.

Note of caution - while waiting for a puppy to arrive at Arby's, do NOT be tempted by the curly fries with your cup of coffee. This is NOT a good mix. I'm just sayin'...

Of course "Andy" (our driver) ran late so we actually didn't meet "Cheyenne" until 8:30-ish but let me tell you, she was worth the wait.

"Cheyenne" (who was to be quickly renamed) was the most mellow puppy that I have ever met. Of course, she had been in a car (or cars) for 36 hours so that was understandable. We familiarized ourselves with her, led her into the back seat of our car and drove home with our new "baby".

We introduced "Dog to be Named Later" and Malcolm (our chocolate Lab and Mummy's big brown angel of love) out in the street. They got along perfectly.Then we brought them into the house, where Malcolm forced his role as THE alpha dog and forced DTBNL into the submissive posture. DTBNL also got her first glimpses of India and Doyle - whom she promptly ignored.

The pets all like each other? Mission freakin' accomplished!

Callie explored the house and got the biggest charge out of Jenna's room. She sniffed and sniffed until her sniffer was sore and then she hopped up on Jenna's bed and laid down. Clearly, she was already settling in.

We all went got to bed late that night. India hid in the guest room, Doyle stayed out and about while Malcolm claimed his spot on his dog bed and went to sleep. Callie spent the first night in our bed.

"Cheyenne" was now "Callie".

She had a few accidents in the house overnight. This was corrected by Day 2, when Katie and I both stayed home to acclimate the dog to her new environs - "This is your backyard. This is the neighborhood. Here's where the cats eat, etc." All went well. By Wednesday we had both gone to work and discovered that Callie hated being in the crate with the red-hot passion of 1000 suns.

And we're still dealing with some "accidents" around the home.

She'll get there, though.

This weekend Katie and I were supposed to go on a cruise with some friends from her PI class on Sunday morning. It turned out that this was going to be an all-day affair. However, with Callie's crate issues I decided to stay home with her and putter around the house while Katie went on the cruise with her friends. I was outside painting our new Adirondack chairs yesterday morning when Katie informed me that "CJ and Chris do not want to go on the cruise without you so instead they have suggested that we all meet at their house for a clambake." Then she added "They want us to bring Callie so you can come, too."

Wow.

Chris and C.J. totally rock! We headed out to Swampscot for a lobster boil with great food, a full beverage container and GREAT friends.

Callie slept the whole way there (see? mellow!) and then relaxed throughout the day in their backyard. We fastened her to a very long rope and she had the run of their backyard, where she sniffed, snacked and slept all day long. After we ate, C.J. suggested that we walk down to the beach. It was a beautiful, quarter mile to the private beach, where Callie got her first taste of living on the East Coast...

Waves!

She was scared at first. High tide was coming in and the crash of the surf was pretty loud but once she got wet she just played and played at the waters edge. Finally, she just sat on the beach and watched the waves crash against the shore.

Later, Chris wanted a "family photo" of the day at the beach:

Finally, Callie glanced over at me and allowed me to take this picture:

She gave me a kiss right after I put the camera down.

This one is my favorite, if only because it perfectly captures the Zen-like attitude of this quiet girl.

In one short week Callie has become a loving member of our family. I have started to refer to her as my "White Shadow" because she follows me everywhere. She is the perfect balance to the sometime manic energy that comes from Malcolm. She loves the cats, or at least, she ignores them enough and she has been great with all of us. She is a fantastic dog who is loving and is loved in return.

I am so glad that she's finally come home to us.