Archive for October 2nd, 2009
Introducing the newest member of our household, formerly known as Xanadu Chairman of the Board (call name: Sinatra), but now known as Sam. Ava’s just not able to pronounce Sinatra yet. We’d thought about calling him Frankie but it just didn’t work for me.
J is very, very happy to have him here. The male bonding is intense, probably in part because he imprinted on J when he picked him up from the airport after his flight from Chicago. Apparently the testosterone acts a magnet or something since Sam will hardly leave J for even a second – well, except for food. He’s a chowhound.
Sam sort of fell into our laps. We weren’t looking for another papillon at this time but the opportunity and circumstances presented themselves and it felt okay. He’s certainly not a replacement for Katie (although they do share a few personality characteristics that my other 2 paps don’t have) but he’s settled in and is finding his own place in our household – unfortunately with 2 female dogs that place seems to be at the bottom of the pecking order.
He is WONDERFUL with Ava. For a pup with little to no experience with toddlers he has been a dream come true for us. My older pap, Emma, is all mountain-goaty and avoids interacting with kids by climbing to the highest spot in any room, whereas Sophie, the middle one, is perfectly fine with Ava but will snarl threateningly at any other kid if they get too close (she’s not overly friendly with unknown adults either). It helps that Sam is a big boy (for a papillon) standing at 11 inches tall and weighing in around 8 pounds so he’s a little sturdier than the girls.
He’s a sweet little boy. Headstrong and barrels through the house like a bull in a china shop, can leap tall baby fences in a single bound, but is all heart. He doesn’t wear his on his sleeve, though. He’s man enough to wear his right on his head for everyone to see.
