Rama
Have I told you about our new puppy, Rama?
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| From Rama |
He’s not so “new” any longer, we’ve had him for 2 months now, but that explains one of the reasons why I haven’t had much time to update this blog. We’ve had a new baby in the house. That and a lot of colds this winter, but I’ll talk about that another time.
Brad and I had been discussing getting a puppy for several years now. We both grew up with Shelties (Shetland Sheepdogs) and I had one as an adult that passed away a few years before the boys were born. We currently have three cats and knew that bringing in a dog would contribute more annoyance to their lives. I mean, first Brad and I moved in together, forcing them to all get along, and then we had kids! Oh boy, our three queens suddenly had to share our laps, our hands, and our attention with these little humans. So we were going to wait a few years. But one night I had a dream. I don’t even remember the dream, I just remember waking up absolutely, positively sure that we had to have a dog now instead of later.
So one Saturday in January I randomly happen to be looking at www.petfinder.com (a wonderful service to search for dogs up for adoption in your area) and found a litter of puppies at our local Humane Society. Now they were advertised as collie mix pups, and I really wanted a Collie, so we decided to go meet them. As we looked down into the play area, the litter was all snuggled together sleeping. One was on his back, his ears up, looking just like a little fox. When he opened his eyes we saw that one eye was blue and one eye was brown w/a small spot of blue at the bottom. The volunteers swooped in and put him into my arms. They told us how he and his litter mates were found roaming the streets feral and they’d actually taken him home for a few days to socialize him a bit because even though he was the runt, he was also the wildest. He snuggled and was very mellow. He yawned and made a cute noise with the yawn. Brad and I looked at each other and said “yes?”, “yes!”. We brought him home that day.
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| From Rama |
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| From Rama |
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| From Rama |
Our little guy was very sick. He slept a lot, didn’t eat much, and had a horribly runny nose. Lucky for us the vet we had chosen had Sunday hours and we got him in within 24 hours of the adoption. At first the vet was worried that we’d adopted a dog with Parvo or was otherwise so sick he wouldn’t make it. She was really, really afraid he wouldn’t make it. He needed some serious TLC. The vet worked wonders over the course of the time that we were there, including lots of tests that said he did not have Parvo nor any other terrible virus or disease, and was mostly parasite free. He had a breathing treatment and they sent me home with meds and special food and lots of instructions for how to get him on the mend. And as each day passed, he got better and better. He started eating after the treatments at the vet, which gave him energy to play. He had been so skinny that you could see his ribs and his pelvic bones sticking out as he walked. Now he started to fill in and build muscle. Rama was about 3 months old and 5 lbs when we brought him home. Now he is 5 months old and 20 lbs. The vet expects him to grow to about 40 lbs.
Here are some photos of him from those first few days:
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| From Rama |
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| From Rama |
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| From Rama |
He loves to cuddle and snuggle up with us and the boys. His energy built quickly and he showed how smart he is, instinctively knowing how to play fetch, housebreaking very quickly, learning to sit in one training session. He knows the rules of the house and tries to follow them, although being a puppy he often has to be reminded. He’s actually one of those dogs that is so smart, you have to watch yourself. He’s mischievous, but not in a bad way, in a cute and silly way.
Rama is not a Collie. When we saw the litter what I and the Human Society volunteers saw was Australian Shepherd, another breed that I’m fond of, if for no other reason then they are a herding breed which tend to be my favorites. We aren’t sure what the mix is, it’s probably not even just one other breed. His ears started out up, went down in a very Australian Shepherd fashion for a few weeks, and then perked back up again for the last few weeks.
Rama last month with down ears:
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| From Rama |
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| From Rama |
He has a beautiful red merle on his head, some of his brothers and sisters had it all over their bodies and it was even more obvious that they were Aussies. But it was the ‘collie’ that got us there to adopt him, so we are glad of it.
The boys were amazing in their show of love and compassion for this little creature. It made our hearts swell with pride and joy to see how the boys behaved with their new friend. Forest is interested in learning how to train him with me, while Logan is always on the floor rolling around with him like another puppy. They are always running over to give him hugs and kisses and tell him they love him. They play with him and care how he’s doing. They argue over who’s bed he’s going to sleep on each night and miss him when they stay over at Dusty’s house.
Recent photos:
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| From Rama |
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| From Rama |
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| From Rama |
Having a dog in the house has been such a joy. Lots of giggle and laughs, lots of dogie kisses and cuddles. He’s smart, beautiful, and full of life. His presence has us all spending more time out doors, especially in our backyard. The boys will even go outside in the backyard at night now and we’ve been able to show them constellations and talk about the moon. Before they had been afraid of the dark. It’s subtle things that Rama has brought into our lives and our home, subtle and wonderful as his personality unfolds and we all learn to get along. In many ways it has been a little like having a new baby in the house, and yet nothing as intense as that (especially after having had two!). Both Brad and I have enjoyed getting to feed that part of us that likes babies, and the boys have been excellent big brothers.
Finally some photos from the past few days:
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| From Rama |
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| From Rama |
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Adorable pup, and I bet all the nurture and care he was given by you all when he was so close to death will help to form a very special loving bond.
You are now “his people”.
There is an utterly fascinating PBS Nova documentary available via Netflix Instant Stream entitled ‘Dogs Decoded‘ that I recommend you watch when you find the time. It details the special relationship that dogs have developed with humans over centuries of domestication, and how they pick up naturally on things such as pointing to an object to direct their attention. Something a chimpanzee can not do.
Fascinating stuff. Dogs rule!