Happy Birthday, Nyxie! Part II - The Pickup

While sitting down to write the 2nd installment of Nyxie's coming home story, I realized that I had alot to share.  It was a busy, emotional time for our family and one that brings back a ton of memories.  So I'm breaking up the story into a few more manageable parts.  This post is really about her Gotcha Day (March 24, 2007), but I couldn't wait that long to start Part II.  It's a bit different from my normal blog, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless.  Maybe I have the makings of something else entirely here....please let me know what you think  

As you can probably imagine, I was a mess for the rest of that night.  All I could think about was that sweet little puppy and the mischief and joy she'd bring with her.  Would the girls get along with her?  Arwen had never liked any other dogs so we were sure our integration challenge would start with her.  What if we couldn't transition Arwen and Raven over to raw food?  Would the sleeping arrangements work?  Would she potty train easily?  I wanted to get it all right - without any mistakes.  I wanted to be the Victoria Stilwell / Cesar Millan dog-mom of my dreams.  I thought of the puppy breath, the soft ears, the floppy paws and knobby knees.  I was filled with hope and anticipation for the privilege of raising this new, tiny life.

Needless to say, I couldn't play World of Warcraft very effectively and ended up showing everybody Nyxie's  litter pics from the Timber Ridge website.  My friend Sandy, and the only other dog fanatic in the room, confessed that she and her husband, Roland might be adding a new Golden into their pack.  Sandy is one of those wonderful caretakers that truly adores her 2 Goldens, Hannah and Hailey like children.  And soon after, Parker, was welcomed home.

Through all this, Matt tried to tease me about the new puppy, presenting a manly facade to the other guys.  Secretly, though, I knew better.  Finding this perfect pup was a dream come true.  And a chance to start healing some old wounds of loss - both past and future.  He announced that we had to leave early as we had an early start the next day and we said our goodbyes.

On the drive home, we were almost giddy despite the falling sleet.  We talked about training, and introductions, and of hope.  I must've said, "I can't wait until tomorrow" about a hundred times.  And when we got home, I was like a child trying to sleep on Christmas Eve, my heart was pounding.  I tossed and turned.  

The next morning was met with cleaning and puppy-proofing.  We planned our introduction to happen in the spare bedroom, T's bedroom when she would visit us.  It was a neutral place as we rarely let the dogs in there even when she was home.  Time passed sloooooowly.....

It was finally time to pick up our new family member.  We drove to Saco, a town about 20 minutes south of us.  I could scarcely sit still.  As we'd been to the main house previously, we were allowed entry by her pack of gorgeous shepherds.  We rang the bell and Doreen brought out the tiny black pup, wide eyed and curious.  She'd made good on her promise to bathe her, to wash away the brown earth from her fur.  She was shiny, silky and the deepest black of sparkling onyx.  Her brown almond eyes looked questioningly at us as Doreen handed her over.  She sniffed us thoroughly - we smelled nothing like the rich earth, stables and the hay, the smells of Maine.  We smelled of different dogs, of the city and of coffee.

The Matt with then long hair and tiny Nyxie.  Day 1

I can't remember who held her first that day, but I suspect Matt let me hold her, as we'd decided she would ride in his lap while I drove home.  We have this theory that whoever rides home holding the new pup or kitten becomes the tiny creature's favorite.  At least that's what we'd experienced with rescue in the past.  Doreen gave us a wonderful book called Natural Nutrition for Dogs and Cats, The Ultimate Diet  by Kymythy R. Schultze, the pup's AKC paperwork and informational folder, and a large tupperware container full of raw chicken necks.  She also explained to us that our new pup could be returned to her at any point in her life if the need arose.  Her pups were always welcomed home.  What a wonderful testament to the faith she has in her dogs!

And with that, Genie Z Timber Ridge, with ear tattoo # 7TR05, became the newest member of Arwen's Pack.

Part III, The Homecoming to be continued...