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I came to Connecticut to keep the Princess company. Although they did not speak French, except Jim Luippold, the Princess’s first father, he speaks French because he is a French teacher. So, I needed to learn English, Bichon and Labrador. The Princess helped me out.
The Princess is Gabrielle. But she has her own story, so I don’t have to take up room in mine.
I knew early on that this family was going to be easy for me. They held me all the way from my home on the frozen lake to my new house on Lily Hill. We stopped frequently so I could stretch the young puppy legs I had then, but then the moms warmed me right up again.
I met my new family right after Christmas. There was an old dog named Taffy. She mostly slept alot. There was Bernstein, a really, really big dog. Buster who is a really big dog too (but I don’t think he’s supposed to be ‘cause he’s a Bichon and old Taffy wasn’t nearly that big) and then there was Gabrielle, The Princess. She was kind of bossy to me - but pretty nice too. She helped to show me the ropes - like where the water dishes were. Buster showed me his favorite game, the family calls it “bowling.” When we would tell him we wanted treats or something, he would knock on the bowls that the moms had in the kitchen on this metal stand. That made a lot of noise and they would come running and tell him not to break the bowls. Then we would get treats. Sometimes he would open the cabinet doors and pull out the bags of biscuits and we’d all take some. Another trick was to take our food dishes (we each have our own with our names on them) from where they were stacked by the big water bowl. Then, Buster would bang on the pile until they all fell down and rolled all over the kitchen. That made a lot of noise too. Plus, sometimes I’d just carry a bowl away and chew on it for a while.
They had lots of toys in my new house. They even had a Christmas stocking waiting for me with presents in it, stuffed animals and pigs ears and hooves and stuff. It was pretty neat. Then I discovered the neatest thing - tennis balls. Man oh man - tennis ball fetch is my game.
It was cold and snowy at my new house just like at my old house. But the days went fast while I explored my new home and learned more about my pack. |
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Soon all the cold snow melted and we were running easily in the yard. The grass was very wet and my mom, Katherine, is a heavy-duty gardener, so there was a lot of dirt and mud. I knew my calling from the first time Katherine took out a garden fork. I was to be her helper.
Katherine would bring home packages of plants in little, tiny, plastic containers. My job was to pull them out for her. She would wave her arms at me, yelling in a loud, joyful voice, “Sasha!!!!!” I always let her know I was right beside her as she moved around the garden beds in the yard. Whenever she got up to walk, I’d pull at her pant leg, sock or sneaker to remind her I was right there, ready to go, whatever she needed. Lots of times this got her to stop what she was doing and throw a tennis ball for me. I guess she needed the break and exercise - so I tried to help out with that too!
It was a good thing that the family brought me home, because The Princess did not care to do any of these things. She prefers to play tag with the pack and hang out with Buster - who’s really her best buddy.
As spring turned to summer, the yard was less wet and my mom had to pull out the hose to water the plants. I admit that I’m not real big - but I helped her to drag the hose wherever it needed to go. Sometimes mom was going in the wrong direction and I had to redirect her so it was a lot of work.
In between all of this work and play, I had to go to school. First I went to puppy kindergarten. There was this chocolate Lab named Blue who became my good buddy once he stopped tripping over me. Then we went back and did obedience classes and I got to play on the agility equipment. What a blast!!! I’d run up and down steep boards, walk over narrow planks, jump on and off boxes and run around the yard. Our school closed recently, so my family is looking for a new place for me to go to school.
Life is pretty good here on Lily Hill. If you stop by, I’ll probably be busy working in the garden - I am also the self-appointed guard for the family. I’ll check you out, and if you seem like good folks, I’ll let you in. You’ll know me, I’ll be the one pulling at your pant leg, or your socks or shoe.
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