A year ago almost exactly we had to let our dog of 12 years go because of a tumor he had at the base of his brain that had become almost completely debilitating for him. It was very hard for all of us especially Robb. Benny had been our first baby before we ever adopted our kiddos. Well, the kids had been chompin' at the bit to get another puppy since Spring. Robb didn't really want to yet but after all our summer adventures and after we got back into a normal routine with school, he warmed up to the idea. In September I started researching some of the local puppy rescues. There are quite a few here, we live in Colorado for heaven's sake where people take dogs to work...LOL. We all kind of decided we wanted to get a dog that was maybe medium-large sized and that looked different than Benny.
We had been eyeing some German Shepherd mixes at the Lifeline Puppy Rescue in Brighton and finally had a free weekend the beginning of November. It was a rainy/snowy day and we bundled up the kidlets and went to scope out these puppies. By the time we got there most of the litter had been adopted already but there were a few left...and they looked exactly like our Benny but with brown paws. We picked a little female puppy to play with for a while and the kids were smitten. Even though she looked like Benny, they still wanted her so bad. So Robb went in and did all the paperwork while I got the kids out of the snow and into the car to wait. We googled puppy names on my phone and they unanimously chose Piper. She was rescued from Mexico and was only 10 weeks when we adopted her. We aren't sure what she is mixed with but we are pretty sure it is something small. German Shepherds are supposed to be almost 30 lb. at 3 months and she's only 12lb. So she is probably going to be much smaller than our Benny.
Zack is completely comfortable around her. Bryce and Avery are a little skiddish at her puppiness and her little sharp teeth and claws so they usually keep their distance unless someone is holding her or unless she is really calm or sleepy.
The second week we had her, on Thanksgiving day, she was playing with my brother-in-laws dogs and came down on her back leg funny and fractured it. It has been so sad. She is on confinement so she has to be laying in her kennel, on her pillow, or in a lap and she's not supposed to run around at all. For a puppy, I am sure that is pure torture. She also has a cone on her head unless someone is close enough by her to make sure she isn't trying to demolish her splint. Hopefully by Christmas, her splint can come off and she can resume normal life again.
I snapped these pictures of her this morning and didn't realize how much she had changed from that first picture. She has probably gained 3 or 4 pounds. One of our favorite features is her cute white eyebrows. It gives her a lot of personality.
I love this picture. This is pretty much her life right now with her bright yellow splint. We lay her on her cream pillow and she just keeps inching closer to wherever you are sitting. Adorable.
So if you can read the writing on her yellow splint, it says NO CHEW. Well, what can I say, we do our best but sometimes she is just sneaky.
We are excited to have Miss Piper in our family and can't wait till the day her leg is healed so we can play with her for real!
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