Hi there Hermine and Happy Holidays! I am happy to report that Fluffy (now named Kairos, which is Greek for “Quality Time”) has been living with me in Jupiter for just over 8 months now, and we are doing fantastic! She is full of life, and full of energy. She absolutely loves trips to the lake house and to the beach, goes with me to work sometimes, and has tons of fun with my families Golden Retrievers when we all get together at the lake house. She also gets along great with my mother’s puppies Mulligan (a 10lb Pomeranian), and Mollie (a 4lb Maltese), and my friends dog Bailey (a 6lb Maltepoo). Has a fantastic time with another friends dog Tug (a 40lb mutt), and a Golden Retriever in my neighborhood named Cody. Kairos and Cody LOVE playing tug-of-war, and going swimming together in the pool.
Attached are a few pictures taken on one of our trips to the lake house this past summer. There is one with Kairos and her new cousins Calypso and Gozo. This was from the first weekend they met (Kairos is on the right), and they played ALL day. It was her first time in the lake, and her first time swimming. It took her about half the day to get comfortable with swimming, but then, she never wanted to get out of the water. Now every time we go there, she’s the first one in, and the last one out at the end of the day. She also had her first boat ride this past summer. She absolutely loved it. She wasn’t even a bit apprehensive about it. And once she found out that she could put her face in the wind, she was spend most of the day with her face in the salt air and her tongue hanging out of her mouth. There is a distinct smile that Kairos has, and when I see it, I know she is both happy and content. I took a picture of that smile and attached it for you. I’ll let you be the judge on how happy you think she is. That photo was taken during a round of Frisbee in the back yard. Speaking of which, I have over an acre of land that she loves running around. Plenty of room for those Frisbee games (which she has become quite good at). She get so excited, sometimes she starts running in anticipation of me throwing the Frisbee. Many times, she manages to outrun it, and catch it in the air. She is very strong, and very fast! She has grown like a miniature pony and tips the scales at a whopping 85 pounds! Although, she is lean and healthy. No fat on this doggie! She gets too much exercise for that.
I mentioned the beach earlier. She loves going to the beach with me on Sunday mornings. There are plenty of other dogs for her to play with, and she loves chasing sticks into the water. But I think her favorite time is when she is playing with other dogs. I think you might be starting to get the picture that she goes with me to a lot of places. I have tried to introduce her to as many dogs (actually, animals) as I can, and she is a great travel buddy. She rides so well in the car, and goes with me most places. She gets to see squirrels, rabbits, and even cows and horses. She really has a thing for the horses and loves to just sit and stare at them through the fences. Every time we walk by them, the horses come up to the gate and they just look at each other.
Right now, we are going through obedience training together. When we were first getting to know each other in April, we worked on the basics like walking on a leash properly, sit, stay, and some basic house manners. She was a quick study! Within just a few days, she was great on a leash, and within a few minutes (and a few treats) she had sit and stay down pat. Although, when we get outside, she can get distracted easily, and likes to run. That’s why we are now enrolled in a 7 week daily obedience class. We are learning things like, heeling off leash, sit, lay, stay, come when called at a distance, sit & stay at a distance, and retrieval. We are also working on house manners like no jumping (not that she does that much), answer the door politely, no stealing food off the table (although this has only happened once), and let people enter and exit doors before she does. It’s a long class, but we are having fun with it, and so much is learned every day. Now it’s just practice and repetition.
Did I mention belly rubs? She LOVES, LOVES, LOVES belly rubs! It’s the first thing we do when we get up in the mornings. As soon as the alarm clock goes off during the week, or when it’s “time to get up” on the weekends, she comes and puts her nose on the edge of the bed, and waits for me to get up. Then it’s time for belly rubs and then breakfast. When we watch TV at night (yes, she actually watches the TV), she will lay at my feet roll over, and paw at me to get belly rubs. One thing I haven’t figured out is her reaction when I put on my socks in the morning. She wants to bite at my feet. Maybe she just attributes that to me leaving for the day, or maybe it’s something from when she was a puppy. All in all, she still gets a little nervous when I leave her home alone, but it has gotten better over time. Also, she has such a great attitude and sweet temperament. She loves to play with other dogs, and doesn’t even mind if they steal her toys or eat out of her bowl. She gets along with everyone, and all dogs. Also, EVERYONE that meets her and spends any time with her comments on what a great girl she is, and how sweet she is. All in all, we are doing fantastic together, and I am so very thankful to EGRR for being the conduit in finding Fluffy / Kairos, her new forever home! Feel free to write me any time, and I will be happy to give you updates. Happy Holidays!
