Traveling Therapist

During a recent trip to Southern Arkansas I called one of the nursing homes to see if they would be interested in a visit from a therapy dog. I got the impression that they had never had a visit from a therapy dog before. After asking me a few questions they said we could come. Since they didn't ask what kind of dog I was bringing I decided to just let that "little" bit of information be a surprise.

When we walked in the building there was a collective gasp from the nursing home staff and then a mad rush to see who would get to pet Louie first. Soon he had quite an adoring crowd around him and we heard the usual comments: "Wow he's so big!" "Did you see that? She just moved her finger and he sat down." "How much does he eat?" "He is so beautiful." Louie soaked up all the attention and passed out a few kisses to his latest fan club.

Louie making his "cutie pie" face

The puparazzi continues to follow us everywhere we go.

This nice lady fell in love with Louie...she just couldn't get enough of him.

I don't blame her :) Almost everyone loves this sweet teddy bear Newf.

Signs of Summer

Summer arrived early this year and we can't wait for it to be over.


It's already about a MILLION degrees outside so we are faithfully performing our fan worshiping ritual daily. (Note: all three fans are on in this picture; our camera just has a speedy shutter.)


In the summer the homemade bread that Mama makes rises higher than during the cold winter months...too bad we can't eat any due to our wheat free diet. We do get to sample the organic vegetables from our local community supported agriculture program though. Our favorites are watermelon, kale stems, broccoli and cabbage...at least summer has a few benefits.


Everyone who has Newfs can probably relate to this picture. We like to lie right on top of the air conditioning vents. We think it's hilarious when Daddy comes along and slides us off of them. As soon as he turns his back we scoot right back until the whole vent is blocked again. If they didn't mean for Newfs to lie on the vents they should have put them somewhere other than the floor!


Happy Summer everyone! We hope you all stay nice and cool. Love and Licks from Katie & Louie

I Love New York in June...

On a recent trip that my Mother and I made to NY to visit my sister, I fell completely under the spell of the City. From the pigeons perched on lovely old buildings, to phenomenal music in the subway station, to the multi-cultural crush of humanity, it all held charm for me.

It's amazing that there is such a strong feeling of community on the small island of Manhattan that contains over 27,000 people per square mile. The compassion and kindness that resulted after the tragic events of 9/11 still seem to be prevalent.

All of the sidewalks (and even some of the stores) are populated by an abundance of dogs. This of course made me miss Katie and Louie. I kept wishing I could magically zap Gary and the Newfs to New York. I think we would have so much fun there although it would be difficult for us to ever get any exercise since we would likely be stopped every two feet by the Newf Paparazzi.

We stayed very busy during our visit. We went to the Lenox Lounge in Harlem to hear some old style jazz music, did a lot of shopping, toured the Museum of Natural History, went to a street fair, and took my sister's dog for several walks in Riverside Park. But my favorite two things were getting to spend time with my Mom and Sister...

And, getting to see my dear friend, her sweet husband and their two precious daughters who were adopted from China. We spent a lovely afternoon together and before the day was over I ended up with both girls in my lap. Spending time with them really made me happy and somehow made me feel closer to Natalie.

I'm looking forward to the day we have a reunion and Natalie is here to play with these girls. After talking with my friend about the status of our adoption I am actually allowing myself to think that we might get a referral within the next 12 months. After over 5 years of waiting I am more than ready for our daughter to come home.

When I returned to the Happy Haus I had a wonderful reunion with Gary, Katie and Louie. The Newfs were super excited to see me and their grandma walk through the back gate. It's always good to come Home.

By the way, Katie and Louie say Hi/Woof and wanted you to know we will back to our regular blogging soon.