I swear he is smiling.

I got Kona home Monday night after over hundred long miles of contemplation of how it was going to go when we finally got home.  I was nervous, apprehensive, excited and having more than little buyer’s regret.

When we  got home, Lauren was off caring for a friend’s horses and was not there to greet us.  First, I had to get my dogs out of the house and get Kona in, without having a huge dog fight erupt.  I did not know if it would or not, but I have had dogs in huge fights before and the outcome is often swift, brutal and bloody.  The two dogs most apt to start the fight were the two rescue dogs, Muffy (the black and white spaniel mix found near frozen in the corn field) and Browndog, ( a brown lab and Australian Shepherd mix) whom Jordyn spotted behind our arena the year of the great drought, horrendously thin and needing a home.  These two dogs came from hard times, are more nervous and can become nippy if crossed.

I managed to get the dogs all fed (all outside at their usual stations) except PuppyGirl and Kona whom I separated indoors until I would know how the dogs would get along.  Kona had come with his own high dollar dog food made from Salmon and including blue berries (anti-oxidents, you know).  When Lauren opened the bag she said it smelled like a million dead fish.  But Kona loved it and ate it hungerly.  Introducing dogs is hard enough but you do not add the element of food. 

Then, on the leash, Kona and I went off to investigate the horses for the first time.  We got just outside the gate, when Kona realized something was a miss.  He got wind of the horses and the horses got wind of him.  He immediately started barking in a deep resounding bark while braced against his front legs in case he needed to whirl and run.  Mickey and Feather did not smell or see “dog”.  What they saw resembled an ape or a bizarre hedge hog and what they smelled was a floral scent from the grooming powder and shampoo.  Feather raced to the back of her stall.  Mickey stood his ground at the front of his but was puffing and blowing at the weird animal in front of him.  In my head, I thought, oh boy, isn’t this gonna be a great horse show dog!

But each time I went back out to water and then to hay, Kona came along.  By the third trip he was quiet, relaxed and looking for some horse poop to eat.  Good progress!

Inside the house, things were going a little slower.  Kona was not a threat to anyone, but he was acting like the exuberant puppy that he is, jumping, posturing and giving happy barks to invite the other dogs to play.  By bedtime, he, Muffy, Lula and PG were tolerating each other.  I finally laid down to read on my bed with the three existing dogs on the bed with me.  I had quickly learned that Kona had been taught not to get on the furniture and it seemed like a good rule to keep enforcing.  I put Kona in his big kennel and we all settled in.

I turned of the lights.  Kona started barking.  His barking engaged the dogs in Lauren’s room and it got pretty rowdy.  I yelled at him. Still barking.  Turned the light back on.  He goes quiet. I have no idea where his kennel was before (in a garage, a cave, in the pool house) but in my bedroom it was going to be a problem if I could not have the lights out and quiet.  I turned the light out again.  The barking started in full force.  I was tired, stressed and scared I had bought the hound from hell.

I put my ear plugs in (used last time to block out the giant cat mating under my house session), turned on a fan and eventually he quieted down and slept.

My goal for the next day was by day’s end to have all the dogs out together in the fenced back yard. It seemed like it was not going to be easy.

Meanwhile, Lauren saddled up Feather.  Kona and I headed to the arena behind them to see how a horse moving was going to effect him.  We have a horse show this weekend and Kona cannot go and bark at all the horses.

Keeping an eye on Feather but not offering to charge or chase her. He has ball in his mouth.

By the end of the evening, we were going to barn without incident and the backyard full on new sisters was going okay as well.  The best part of ending day 1 of Kona’s first day on the farm?  I put him in his kennel, turned out the lights and we quietly went to sleep.

An email that stopped my heart.

Those of you who have known me for a long time will understand that an email from Betty Brown would certainly give me pause.  And even though I knew it could not be from ‘her’ I still saw it as a sign.  Betty was my older sister.  Brown was my maiden name.  My sister was killed in a car accident over 30 years ago.  She never knew what a computer was or sent an email.  She was the better part of me-the better sister.

When we were growing up we would go spend summer vacations at the ranch in Granby, Colorado.  It was a working and guest ranch-still is, after all these years.  First, we were just another family that came to ride and enjoy the mountains.  Later, my dad managed the ranch awhile.  It is funny how things you learn, respect and enjoy as a kid, stay with you.  The owner of the ranch had cattle dogs of course, but she also had beautiful, intelligent standard poodles.  Before you scoff at the poodle, know it is not French at all, but bred to be a water retriever dog from Germany.  It is a working dog-I am not talking about the little toy dogs, but the 60 pound, non-shedding, rough and tumble standard poodles.  On the list of the top five most intelligent breeds, the Poodle always finds a spot. 

I have wanted to have one all my life. I am nearing my 56th birthday.  I have a menagerie of dogs, cats and horses.  Kid is my elderly quarter horse but not since I owned Wally my Doberman, have I had a dog that is mine. If I get a dog now, I will have it until I am 70 (Lord willing-about the dog and I).

I thought I would just check around and see what the market was for standard poodles.  You know, just to see.  Yeah.  So, I looked up Houston area breeders.  I really did not want a little puppy.  An older dog was great for me.  I found a breeder called Donnchada Poodles.  I sent them an email.  Then I got the email shown above from Betty Brown.  She was the the breeder and just coincidentally named the same as my sister.  There was very little that could have stopped me from proceeding at this point.  I mean, this just had to be proof that I had to have one of her dogs! Although, I couldn’t really think of anyone who would concede that this was a good idea.  They would say I already had too many dogs, cats and horses.  So, what is one more?  Then they would say, you can get one later when your dog population dwindles some.  I would say the time is now.  It is time to do something just for me.  Actually, when I started asking my friends if I was nuts, most were very kind.  I had texted Amber that I was going to do something that no one would think was a good idea but I was going to do it anyway and wanted to discuss it with her.  She thought I was cleaning out my 401K and moving to an island so the whole get a dog thing came as kind of a relief.

I went to see the poodles last week on Valentine’s Day.  I looked at two males, one white and nine months old and one black and six months old.  I just felt the six month old would ease into my home better (and stay cleaner!).  I called to Lauren on the long drive home.  She was not nice about it. But I feel she has warmed to the idea and knows there are times when you best go along with mom.  This is one of them.

I am calling him Kona-as in Kona Coffee, as in Kona black sand beaches.  I will make him my horse show dog and companion.  I am truly thrilled to have this boy sitting next to me right now. My sister would have approved.  I know, it is my kind of crazy!

Kona-before his hair cut. Don’t worry there will be lots of pictures.