Over the holidays we received several emails and Christmas cards from the families of some of our former foster dogs. Thank you, thank you, thank you for thinking of us! Now, this is the BEST part of this whole business! When they come here the dogs are homeless discards that nobody wants. When they leave they have a new life and home. Here are three puppies that lived with us for awhile:
Franklin was born in animal control in Isanti county. He arrived at our house with his mother, Salem, and 7 brothers and sisters when he was just an hour old. He was still wet from birthing. We called these puppies "Salem's lot" . Franklin and his littermates were all black puppies and it was relatively easy to place them in new homes. But, Franklin was a challenge. He was dominant, aggressive, loud and "ENERGETIC" but very lovable! The name Marley comes to mind, if you've read the book "Marley and Me". Franklin was with us long after his littermates were adopted and we wondered if he would grow to adulthood before he was adopted. But then a young couple, looking for their first dog, came along and fell in love with Franklin. Now, they inform me, Franklin has been to obedience school and "more or less" passed his tests. He is still a bundle of energy with lots of entertaining antics: below, chasing a ball through the snow.
In late summer we took in Tara (the Coon Hound that is still with us) and her 6 puppies. One of those puppies was Prissy, whose personality did not fit her name. She was a spitfire with big personality! This is the dog that I considered keeping for myself (only for a minute, though). In the description that I provided for Petfinder.com I wrote that she was fearless with our Great Dane, and it turned out that her new home would also have a Dane. Fortunately, the young couple that adopted her would also change her name from Prissy to Izzy. They inform me that the two dogs are best friends and at play constantly.
We also received photos from a former foster puppy named Jordi, who was only with us for a couple weeks. This puppy was a German Shepherd, Rottweiller mix and he created some problems because there were too many people that wanted to adopt him at once! We had to go through the somewhat painful process of choosing the right home and we're glad to find out that we made the right decision. He is well loved and thriving!
In late summer we took in Tara (the Coon Hound that is still with us) and her 6 puppies. One of those puppies was Prissy, whose personality did not fit her name. She was a spitfire with big personality! This is the dog that I considered keeping for myself (only for a minute, though). In the description that I provided for Petfinder.com I wrote that she was fearless with our Great Dane, and it turned out that her new home would also have a Dane. Fortunately, the young couple that adopted her would also change her name from Prissy to Izzy. They inform me that the two dogs are best friends and at play constantly.
Xavier shares his ipod with his cousin Jeffrey.
Kyle, my nephew
With Christmas every year comes our tradition of lefse making with Grandma (my mother, Alice). Fortunately Selena has become very skilled at it and I don't have to worry about doing it myself; I've never been very patient for it.
Working together we made about 100 lefse. Oh, in case you didn't know, lefse is a norwegian flat bread. René used to say that it was kind of like sweet tortillas (not really!)
Selena mixes the lefse dough. This is the part where I usually get impatient and I'm glad that Selena volunteered to do it.
"Lefse dog", Skippy Lu
My Dad and Xavier were goofing around while we were working!
Skippy Lu LOVES grandpa! Do you wonder why?
Grandpa also really enjoys Xavi's music (as do the rest of us.)
Preparing for X-mas at home: Selena gets a kiss from our foster dog, Tara.
Merry dog, Merry Christmas!
