Monochromatic Maeby

These are some of our favorite pictures from Maeby's first week (Aug 27-Sept 2, 2007) in our home. She loved to sleep, and we soon discovered that she matched our house quite well. As you can see from the pictures below, she matches the hardwood floor right down to the woodgrain matching the darker hairs in her face and ears. Her hair has lightened since then, but now she matches the couch much better.









She loved sleeping, still does but we thought it was funny that all of her favorite sleeping places were hard surfaces, whether it was the hardwood floor, slate tile, the metal airconditioning vents or my law books.

But it wasn't all just sleeping and napping. Maeby was adorable and bouncy and playful, just like a puppy should be. She loved licking but we tried to discourage that because while it is cute and tickly to have a little puppy tongue lick your hand or face, it's not so cute with adult dog tongues with dog breath. The same with her desire to nibble on our fingers. Here are a couple picks of Maeby giving Suz and I kisses.

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And here is a cute pic of her in her bed, but you can tell she is looking down at that hardwood floor longingly -- notice the shades of beige from the couch, throw blanket and dog bed. And then playing on the rug which is also in the same color family.

Beige, tan, khaki, apricot, light brown and tan are the colors of our apartment, so Maeby fits right in.

As a puppy every part of her was cute, but her bum seemed especially cute. Like a miniature kodiak bear cub bum. This picture doesn't capture the cuteness as well as we hoped, but it gives you an idea.

But probably my absolute favorite photo of Maeby is below. The proportion of her head to her body, the little tufts of fur sticking up from her ears, the cute little paws, tiny lack nose and big black puppy eyes. She is almost a precious moments puppy.

But you know what, I still can't quite decide whether she was cuter then than she is now. She's just a cute dog all the way around. What do you think?

Puppy Pick-up Day!!!

Since Maeby is one year old and we are just barely starting this dog blog, we have a whole year’s worth of cute Maeby pictures and fun Maeby stories. So, interspersed with current events will be pictures and stories of Maeby’s first year. And as soon as I take the time to cut the video, I’ll add that too.

So, let’s begin at the beginning. On August 25th 2007 we drove down to Fredericksburg and met the wonderful people of DC Dogfinders and they brought out the most adorable little puppy ever. She was so timid. We spent some time in their puppy play area letting her get to know us and while I was kind of expecting her to want to run and play, it was so cute that all she wanted to do was curl up in our arms. Suz held her while we filled out the adoption paperwork and got some last minute tips on puppy care from Avery and her husband.

Let me just blatantly plug DC Dogfinders now. They were wonderful to work with. They answered emails and returned phone calls promptly even when I asked dumb questions like whether a synthetic lambs wool bed was what she meant when she said that the puppies prefer lambs wool beds (I could not find a real lambs wool bed). They sent out a puppy parent instruction booklet a few days before we picked Maeby up so that we could buy all the necessary gear (crate, bed, blanket, toys, food, dishes, treats, Kong, Dingo Bones, leash, collar, etc.) additionally, they made sure we had a veterinarian before we could adopt Maeby. And they continued to answer our questions in the weeks following. Plus, she was already partially potty trained to go potty on puppy pads.

Now back to puppy pick-up day. Maeby slept and laid on Suzanne’s lap the whole way back and when we got home we put her in her crate and put her crate in the laundry room with the door open and just let her sleep. She was so sleepy. We put some toys outside her crate to give her some incentive to come out which she did a little bit, but mostly I think she missed her mom and she missed her brother. Later that evening our friend Harold stopped by and dropped off a new toy for Maeby, rubber squeaky newspaper, it was that squeak that woke Maeby up. She heard that squeak and just had to have it. She came out of the crate and bounded to the newspaper. It was as big as she was, but she loved the squeak (or hated it and was trying to get the squeaking to stop). She was so cute that first evening, but soon she just wanted to go back to bed. It had been a long day and we didn’t want to overdo it.

Yertle the Turtle

The day before Maeby's birthday I went to scope out Shirlington Dog Park. One website I found had it in a different location, so I wanted to make sure we went to the right place. Well, the first place I went was not the dog park, but Maeby had fun meeting a new friend. This turtle somehow got trapped inside the fence of a soccer field. It kept walking along the fence trying to find a soft spot to push through and get down to the stream. Maeby was scared at first, then she just wanted Yertle to come out and play. She probably barked more in 5 minutes than she has her whole life (she's not a barker, she barks a couple times about once a week). After letting Maeby bark for a while, I tied her up a few yards away so that she wouldn't bother the turtle. Then I pulled the fence up and let Yertle scoot his way under. Then I let Maeby get a closer look. She was much more wary since there was no longer a fence to keep her safe. A park employee came by and I helped him chase the turtle into a bin so that he could take it directly to the water since the day was getting hotter by the minute. We then said goodbye to Yertle and went to find the real dog park.

Yorkies Gone Wild

Yesterday was Maeby's first birthday, so to celebrate we invited some of her dog friends to a puppy party at the Shirlington, VA dog park. Her Italian Greyhound friends, Rocco and Mia, were not able to make it, so it was a Yorkie parade with Romeo, a Morkie (maltese/yorkie), Jack, a full blooded Yorkshire Terrier, and of course Maeby, a Yorkie Poo (yorkie/toy poodle). The Shirlington Dog park was great, there was a stream for them to run and swim in, lots of other friendly dogs, and most importantly, complimentary pooh bags. After the park we took the canines to the Dairy Godmother where they were treated to puppy pops (frozen yogurt, banana, peanut butter) while we humans got frozen custard. It was good day!

Jack and Maeby wrestling in the back of the car. Actually it was more Jack trying to give Maeby some birthday kisses.

Below is Romeo looking over the back seat as if to say, "I'm too old for this." He is 2 years old, while Maeby is just 1 and Jack is 6 months, plus Romeo is a mommas boy. So, we relented and let him ride on his mom's lap on the back seat. That of course meant that Jack and Maeby had to come up to the back seat too. Good thing Suz was there to help with them all, while I acted as chaufer with no one riding shotgun.

At the dog park Maeby took off straight for the water, with Jack following close behind. We knew that Maeby was an ATC (All Terrain Canine) but we weren't sure about Jack.

Maeby is such a strong swimmer, most dogs only know the doggie paddle and a few can freestyle, but a very small minority know the butterfly stroke. And here is Maeby doing the basic dog paddle.
Jack poised and ready to jump back in, even though he just got dried off to keep him from getting too cold, while Romeo just stands in the water, he seems to be indifferent to it.

And Maeby, asking if it is really time to go already. She has so much fun in the water, but she looks like a wet rat afterward.
They weren't too disappointed for having to leave the dog park because they were soon treated to some Dairy Godmother signature puppy pops. Below, Jack and Maeby can't seem to get enough of them. With each lick the cup inches away, so they are constantly licking and walking around the sidewalk.

Maeby enjoying her puppy pop. Jack enjoying his puppy pop, but what's Romeo doing there in the back?

Romeo wasn't too interested in the peanut butter and banana frozen yogurt, I guess he's watching his weight because he decided he'd rather have the salad. Now for a series of cute pictures:

Maeby

Romeo

Jack

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Group picture time:

Romeo, Maeby, Jack

Jack, Romeo and Maeby
It was a long day, and Jack could not stay awake on the ride home.
In addition to all the fun, Maeby got a few presents.

Romeo gave her some bling, a pink collar with a bling encrusted M.

Her Aunt Makaria gave her another of the Dairy Godmother's specialties, homemade barley malt squirrel cookies, made just for dogs (on left), and all the dogs went home with a bag of treats from PetCo's treat bar and a squeeky toy(on right).

One of her new chew toys, Crocodile.









And another new toy, Mr. Hedgehog. She is loving the little snorting sound that this hedgehog makes, as are we, it's quieter and not as harsh as a regular squeek toy.

Do I feel a little silly for having thrown a birthday party for my dog? Sure I do, but I had fun, our friends had fun, and the dogs seemed to have fun, so I will probably do it again. Besides, we like to celebrate, it gives us a chance to eat frozen custard.

Happy Birthday!

One year ago today(June 14, 2007) a toy poodle mother and a yorkshire terrier father became parents to two wonderful puppies who went by Sebastian and Tinkerbell. At 9 weeks old they were ready to make their own way in the world and they were put up for adoption by DC Dogfinders, where we spotted Tinkerbell and just had to have her for our own. One week later, she was ours, we changed her name and she changed our lives.

Maeby's dad. We now know where Maeby got the habit of letting her tongue peek out of her mouth -



















Maeby's mom -

(Pictures forthcoming)

Maeby's brother Sebastian (picture that was posted to the DC Dogfinders website) -


Tinkerbell (soon to be Maeby)(picture that was posted to the DC Dogfinders website) -

COMING SOON!!!

Check back on June 14, 2008.