Puppies

 On Sunday we brought home Ernie:

On Monday we brought home Hazel.

Ernie and Hazel are having fun together. They wrestle hard and then drop down and snooze hard.

After a ferocious play session with Ernie Hazel is currently underfoot sleeping in a way only puppies do. Ernie prefers the crate.

People think we are crazy for getting two puppies simultaneously. We have always had two dogs at once, and to me it made sense to bring our newest two to the house at the same time. I think it must be very traumatic for a puppy to leave his/her litter mates and then arrive at a new home, with new smells, and new people--and no dogs. Ernie was thrilled when Hazel arrived. They played and snorted and Ernie came to life in a way we hadn't seen since we had brought him home the day before. After they met, sniffed and played,  they crawled into the crate together, huddled up, and slept.


Yesterday Hazel cried piteously in the car on the way home. When Noah, my son, asked why she was so upset I explained she was frightened. She had to leave everything she knew. She was alone and in a strange place. Noah began to cry. It was a small snuffle at first, and then a full blown cry. "I am so sad for her that she had to leave her mom and her sisters and brothers!" he wailed.

It is making me teary to think about it.

I have not been posting much lately. This is partly because I am so excited about the puppies. I don't  feel overwhelmed, just really focused on them.  Honestly, nothing seems hard to me after having children. I think once you have birthed a baby and brought him home and survived the first three months you are hardened to difficulty in a way you never were before. But still, having the puppies is sucking my mental energy. I just want to be with them--watch them--cuddle them. I want to photograph every one of their moves. The time they are puppies is fleeting.

I have also not been posting much because I have been thinking and unable to write. I have been thinking about racing and competing and worthiness and respect and ambition. It is a big swirl in my head right now. It will settle, and then I will write.

But for now, there are pictures of the puppies.