Louie Gets Gorgeous

Gary took Louie up to Cabot today to be trimmed by Bonnie, his breeder, in preparation for a conformation fun match next Friday. I usually trim Katie and Louie myself, but I'm not very good at it yet. I didn't want Louie to look goofy in the show, so Bonnie agreed to trim him for us.

Doesn't he look handsome? :-) Thanks Bonnie!

Newfie Window Dressing

"Mama stop working in the yard and come in to play with us!"

Our Super Cool New Fan

Our Auntie Maija told us that Little Remy got an awesome fan that he just loves, so we decided we needed one too. It came in the mail today and we immediately snuggled up to it. Some people like to get cozy in front of fireplaces, but we are coziest in front of cool fans.





A Kiss for My Sis

Finders Keepers, Losers...

Yup, Louie is crying like a baby because for ONCE I have a toy and he doesn't. My bratty little brother is always stealing my toys...never lets me keep anything in my mouth for longer than 1/2 a second. Well, I found this super cool toy in the street on our walkie yesterday. I carried it the whole entire walk. Mama said since I was so fond of it she would make sure I got to play with it before Louie got his grubby paws and teeth on it. Louie was banished to the kitchen with Daddy and I went to my special bed and played with my new toy. 20 minutes of uninterrupted playtime was pure bliss.

Chomp!

The Muddy Water of Lake Sylvia

by Louie the 17 month old Newf...

Yesterday Mom and Dad took me and Katie swimming. I hadn't even been in the water since I was a baby pup last summer, but I'm a Newf so I just jumped right in a started swimming. Dad said I am a natural in the water. My sis, Katie, though was pretty nervous about the whole swimming thing. She was brave at first; she went in without hesitating, but then instead of swimming a modified breaststroke like a normal Newf she acted like she was trying to high step her way through the water. Mom put the dog lifejacket on her and she calmed right down. Before long I started getting hot, so Mom and Dad took us home with the air conditioner in the car cranked all the way up.


Once we got home Mom and Dad spent a couple of hours bathing and drying me and Katie. Even though I'm a boy I don't mind getting a bath...gotta stay handsome for the ladies you know ;-)

Reverse Psychology for Newfs

Although Katie and Louie are both on the high energy end of the spectrum for a relatively low energy breed, they sometimes temporarily become couch potatoes. It's as if they decide that it is just impossible for them to peel their great mass away from where it appears to have melted into the floor. If I say their name during one of these moments the only acknowledgement I receive is maybe an eye blink. I used to struggle to find a way to move them when they were in their nearly comatose states until the day I discovered that reverse psychology works on dogs.

One evening upon returning from dog school Katie decided that she was perfectly comfortable in the car and she would just spend the night there. Since this was not acceptable to me I had to find a way to get her out. After discovering that my usually obedient dog was not going to listen to me I thought I might be able to trick her into getting out of the car. I needed Katie to want to get out so I decided to convince her that I didn't want her to get out of the car yet. Katie and Louie know the "wait" command extremely well, so I said "Waaaaaaait" in a very low and slow voice to make her anticipate the release word of a very upbeat "Ok". Sure enough when I said "waaaaaait" her head popped up, her eyes snapped to attention and her body became rigid with anticipation. I waited several seconds then said "OK". She practically flew out of the car.

When our Newfs aren't tired all that is needed is a command of "Katie move" or "Louie move" if they are blocking the fridge or backdoor, but when trying to budge a sleepy Newfoundland something extra is needed. This handy reverse psychology trick works like a charm every time.

Cyber Sisters in Opryland

Charity, Beth, Lori, Autumn, Sue and Cary

During the past three years I have been very fortunate to become close friends with a small group of extraordinary women whose families were logged into the China adoption program in July of 2006 - the same month as Gary and I. These families are all using the same agency as us, so some of us will definitely travel to China together. There are about a dozen women who are active in our group and six of us were able to meet in Nashville. These incredibly strong and beautiful women have become some of my dearest friends. It was surreal to sit down and talk to some of them face to face after three years of sending thousands of emails back and forth and sometimes talking on the phone. We have given each other so much support during this seemingly endless wait for our daughters... sharing lots of laughter and tears along the way. Someday we will share in each others' joy as we receive our referrals and then when we travel to China to bring our daughters home. I'm looking forward to many reunions over the years with my Cyber Sisters and our daughters.

Ready for Their Baby Sisters to Come Home


The Whole Nashville Gang


Charity and Sue


Cary and Sue

Our logo designed by Sue

When is Mama Coming Home?