Calling all Angel Babies...well, two of them anyway

So far, I am in personal contact with two of Angel's puppy Mama's- Gina, mama of Marley, and Judy, mama of Samba!!  This has been so amazing to not only follow the lives of these pups, but to meet their amazing moms and families. It has been a rewarding experience in a way that I never could have imagined. Who would have thought....humans united through puppies?? It's usually the other way around!

So, my plea is this: If you are the owners of the remaining two puppies, please contact me or Gina over at her blog, "A Family Blessing". We are trying to put together a mom/babies reunion in a public park soon. I would love to wait for all of us to be able to meet, so if you are following because you have one of these amazing dogs, please comment, leave your email address (I will not publish personal info), and we will include you on all the details!!

Thanks! I really hope to hear from you soon.

Laps of Love

Angel is clearly in love with her daddy! He doesn't even have to coax her to sit with him anymore. Steve had just relaxed on the couch when she decided to join him. She curled up in his legs and stayed there for a long time.

It is so cool to see how far she has come. From barking and growling at Steve for her first 6 weeks here to now following him around and jumping on his lap, sleeping next to him in bed, and going crazy when she hears his car.

Everyone deserves this kind of unconditional, loyal, puppy love. Whoever gave her up is sure missing out on a lifetime of love. But, whoever you are, thank you....

Angel, sweet Angel

Angel is so obsessed with finding chipmunks that she has dug us a hole to China in the backyard. Not only that, but she dug another hole under my garden phlox by the house! I kept wondering why her feet were so muddy when she came in...then I caught her under the flowers, digging away. Her breed instinct is a "rat" chaser. Maybe she thinks the chipmunks are rats?

If she hears or sees one, she begins to whine. It's terrible that we won't let her just run and chase them, I guess. They make her completely crazy, and she won't listen to us when she's on the hunt. So, she has to "chase" them on her tie out leash. Oh well....

Angel is still a complete joy to have around. As the weather turns cooler at night, she is making her way back into our bed and snuggling right up between us. In the morning, she crawls up beside my face and curls up next to me, making her little happy grunts that say, "good morning".

I can't say enough that this dog has brought us joy each and every day! The girls absolutely love her playfulness and mischievousness! If they don't close their bedroom doors all the way, Angel is certain to visit their rooms and find a treasure to bring downstairs for herself! It's pretty cute, except for the day we found a shredded bath pouf on the living room floor. It was actually pretty funny.  I don't know why I'm such a softie with Angel. Everything she does is cute! I can't get after her for anything!

I think someone previously disciplined her severely, because if I even say something a little sharply, she will cower. It's so sad. I then have to baby her to convince her she's not in trouble at all. I don't know..maybe she's playing me. She is pretty smart. And when it comes to her, I'm just mush!

Either way, I love her to pieces, and hope one day she will stop sounding so vicious when company comes over. It's so contrary to her actual loving personality!

Garden Girl

Angel likes to accompany me to the vegetable garden to pick whatever is ready. It's fenced in, so she's allowed to run and explore all she wants. The garden is full of grasshoppers and toads, so she has plenty of entertainment! She seems to ignore the many bees, thankfully!

Yesterday as I was picking the green beans, I found some that had been forgotten and were way too big to eat. I snapped them in a few pieces and tossed them, knowing Angel would enjoy the chase. She loved the challenge of following the sound of a bean landing somewhere and trying to hunt it down!

She is a joy to watch as she discovers anything new. She has learned the word, "chipmunk" too. All I have to do is say, "where are the chipmunks?" and she runs to the door where she sees them all the time. She'll whine at them and beg to go out and hunt them down. She's quite the hunter, but when she encounters something she doesn't recognize, she's tentative and careful, tilting her head until I tell her, "it's just a leaf, Ang!" or a toadstool, or anything she's never seen before. 

I so enjoy this little dog. More than I ever thought I would. I'm sure I enjoyed Sophie(our beardie) in this same way when she was young, but I worked full time and didn't spend my days with her. Then we had little ones come along. So, in a way, Angel is the new "baby", and I spend my days with her, pretty much involving her in all I do in a day!

Pretty soon the garden will be tilled under and Angel will get her big space to run again. She'll run top speed around that garden, flipping up dirt on the turns. Her hair will fly back off her face and she'll be smiling....can't wait to till the garden under! :) that and I'm sick of picking beans....

"Cotton Ball"

Angel is a whole new dog, apparently! Gina, Marley's owner, decided to have Marley (a.k.a. "Yofi" to some) DNA tested to learn more about his breed.  At the time I obtained Angel, her breed was a good guess-- part Maltese, part American Eskimo, according to her traits. We were told that  Angel was impregnated by a Maltese at the Ohio shelter, but that's all the information that was available at the time.

I had no idea that dogs could be tested for DNA! So, I was pretty surprised to hear from Gina that Marley tested positive for only 2 breeds. 1 being a Maltese, and 1 being a Coton De Tulear. Yep, you guessed it right! Angel would be that Coton de Tulear!  What was more surprising, and perhaps a little curious was the fact that both parents are purebreds, according to Marley's test. Not only that, but Marley came from 3 generations of purebreds. Now, figure that out. It's a little strange, don't you agree? How did a purebred end up in a shelter, impregnated by another purebred? That's another mystery.

Gina and I have been exchanging emails over this exciting news. We've both been combing the internet for information on the traits of these breeds. Angel fits the Coton to a tee! When I looked up images, it was basically her face! 
 
She may come from royalty, but to us, she's just the same old dog who once in awhile gets in the trash or recycling, chases chipmunks, and drinks out of puddles. She may be a purebred, but since she has been spayed, her value is in making her humans happy, not making more pups! 

Her newest nickname is now "Cotton Ball", since Coton de Tulear is french for cotton ball. Daddy thought now that she had "moved up in the world" that she should be served like royalty. So last night he served her some vanilla ice cream in a crystal pedestal dish! 

Check out Marley's story over on Gina's blog, "A Family Blessing".

Interception!

Angel "intercepted" the football we were tossing at the beach, and quickly made mincemeat out of it! She just can't help herself when it comes to balls. She loves to chase them, pop them, and run off with the pieces with the rest of us in pursuit! Such a stinker sometimes, but still so much fun!

Have Angel, Will Travel

Angel went up to our family cottage with us last Friday and we just got home today. There were 15 of us there, some of whom she had never met. She did surprisingly well, even seeming like she enjoyed all the people and chaos! She barked a bit at first when people came near, but once she was able to say "hello", she calmed down. She was also happy to be running off her leash for most of the time! She chased apples running top speed! She walked to the end of the dock, slept in a tent with us, and even went to Torch Lake and Traverse City.  She's getting better about walking in public, but is still pretty nervous, so we take things slowly.

At night, she curled up on my lap in front of the fire. By day, she was my little shadow. She watched the fireworks without so much as a flinch! (I covered her ears) What a great little dog and an adventurous one at that!