Avalanche came home two weeks ago and we have loved every second of our time with him! What a difference having a dog makes in our day-to-day happiness! C has a decided advantage because he works from home, so Avalanche has really bonded with him, but I've been trying to feed him so that he associates me with his favorite part of the day!
He is a super chill dog. So laid back! For the first five or so days, he was fairly aloof, which we've been told is a classic Husky characteristic, but we also know he would need time to adjust. His world was turned upside down and he needed time to understand that he was safe and we want only the best for him! By day five, he was starting to play and is showing us his personality more and more each day! He doesn't seem to understand any words (car, walk, play, etc.), but he was clearly treated fairly well because he shows no signs of aggression and is not fearful of people or other dogs. Most of the time, he completely ignores any humans or dogs we encounter on our walks - although at times he's shown mild interest in interacting with another dog, but we've not allowed that to happen yet because we really want to know him and his behavior before we let him. He did try to chase a fox that ran through our yard when I was outside with him one morning, but that's about it!
He "checks" on my mom when we go to bed and when we get up in the morning; he wanders into her room, goes to her bedside, and once he confirms she is there. happily goes about his business. She spent one night in the hospital this past week, and both that night and the next morning when Avalanche went to check on her and found her not there, he gave me the sweetest, most confused look! He was quite happy when she was back home.
He is not a fan of treats (in two weeks, he's only eaten one milk bone!) despite us trying many different kinds, and it is clear that he was never allowed on any furniture. We had to work hard to get him up on the bed with us when we first brought him home and he only got up on the couch two days ago for the first time! He's only shown interest in human food once (local friends, it was Tony's Pizza, so absolutely understandable!), but excitedly eats his dog food. He really loves the cold and as such, he is not a fan of blankets whatsoever. We've actually bought him two cooling pads - one is on his dog bed in the family room and one is on our bed - and he is thrilled to sleep on those. He's done a very small amount of talking/howling, and he's given a couple of barks (mostly when something has startled him), but overall, he is super quiet. He loves to go in the car, although he seems to prefer my car, because my second row is a bench seat vs. C's second row, which has two captain chairs, with the third row being a bench seat. He likes to be close to us and my car allows that!
We took him for his first vet visit and our beloved Dr. T. - our vet for twenty years! - gave him a great report and even shared that she is not sure he is actually 11 years old because he is in such great shape, including his teeth and gums! So maybe he is only around 9 years old! We don't care - we are just going to love him for every moment we're lucky enough to have him!
He loves to sit and let us pet him, but I'm not sure how loved on he's ever been, because we are working our way toward being able to hug him. The day I'm able to fully embrace him will be a day for celebration! I was able to give him three kisses on his head today and I was so excited each time! He's learning to trust us and he wags his tail when he sees us, and most importantly, he's content and relaxed.
I read the profile of hundreds of dogs over the past year. I was extremely hesitant to open my heart up again after suffering through compounding and indescribable grief with the passing of each of our Dachshunds. I was worried about whether I'd be able to love another dog the way that I loved - and continue to love - our eight girls. Any dog we adopted going forward would have very big shoes (paws?) to fill.
None of those countless profiles really spoke to me until I found Avalanche. He is the opposite of our Dachshunds in so many ways (not the least of which is the volume of dog hair - see the final photo below), but we are two weeks in and I'm head-over-heels in love with him. The best part, though, is seeing the bond between him and C develop and witnessing how much joy he has brought C!
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he ran to me when I was taking his picture
and this is the greatest blooper ever |
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standing the in rainbow created by the
prismatic film on the window...
I took this as a sign that his eight sisters
at the Rainbow Bridge are watching over him |
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| so precious |
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after we were able to coax him up onto the bed,
he completely relaxed and I think he realized he was home |
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his first fun car ride to the park...
on the Chelsea blanket we've had
forever that all of our dogs
have shared in my car over the years |
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| happy boy |
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I got a new hoodie that has "dog mom"
on the collar and "Avalanche" on the sleeve |
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his toy dinosaur looks like it's trying
to eat Avalanche's ear |
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| watching the Leafs |
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it took five days, but he finally started
to show his personality |
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he starting playing with the toy he got
from one of my best friends |
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he was not entirely sure why I was so
excited and cheering him on |
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| he is so handsome! |
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| he fell asleep on my foot |
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| we are still getting used to his size! |
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| he is very good in the car! |
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| exceptionally well-behaved at his first vet visit! |
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the blue cooling pad is what he likes sleeping on,
but he first nestled in the blankets and pillows |
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| taking up a lot of real estate! |
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| this face is adorable |
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| napping as usual |
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| more napping |
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| such an easygoing personality |
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| carried a toy upstairs for the first time |
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Avalanche received a gift from
one of my best friends and her sweet boy |
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| a donut with a squeaker! |
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| intrigued |
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| trying it out |
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| making it squeak |
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| happily playing with it |
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he loves it!
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| our first car selfie |
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| best friends |
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| how is this comfortable? |
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now he eagerly jumps up on the bed
any time we go upstairs |
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he destroyed this toy and inside it reads,
"time to throw me away" |
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| he loves car rides |
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a surprise in my work mailbox
from one of my best friends |
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he loves the cold!
|
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Avalanche received a Bark Box
from one of my best friends
|
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turns out that he is a huge fan of toys that squeak
|
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patiently waiting for C to return to the car
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| his favorite thing is a quiet nap |
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| happy to go for walks |
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| new parks = so many new smells |
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| how he rested his head on the drive home |
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B1 and S1 brought our niece and nephew to visit and
I try to have arts and crafts stuff out for them to create with;
my 5yo niece made this picture of C and Avalnche
using donut stickers (they're a snowman and a snowdog!)
sidenote: he did very well with two small kids running around! |
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I am obsessed with his thick neck fur,
which I can practically bury my hand in |
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| very attached to C! |
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lots of snugs resulted in
so.much.fur
on my sleeve...
and I'm not complaining! |
Happy Tails to you!
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