Puppy!

Life changed dramatically for us, especially Delaney, when we brought home a squirrelly little puppy-dog last Tuesday. She's as cute as a pumpkin, so gentle and lady-like, the opposite of our big, protective German Shepherd. Those were our initial expressions. Ahhh, we should've known better. Yes, she's cute as a button and those eyes of hers just make your heart melt like cold butter on a hot biscuit, but she's totally rambunctious, annoying at times and goes zooming around literally in search of the next table leg/sock/ankle/dog tail to latch onto. But, with all the early morning potty runs, occasional whining, harassing of Cowboy, and testy nature -- her puppy love completely makes up for it all. So, without further adieu, let me introduce the newest member of our family: Lilly Mae (though, we are contemplating changing it to "ornery" pronounced with a French accent :o).

She's rather scrawny right now, but will grow (she's a hound dog through and through). Mom saw the dark spots and jokingly suggested that we call her "liver".

So far, Lilly has proved herself to be a smart dog -- "No" is definitely becoming a key word in her vocabulary, along with sit, wait and okay. Pretty good for the first week, don't you think? I can brag without apprehension because Delaney is the one training her...

Lilly might look like the perfect "precious moments" hound angel, but don't let her apparent peacefulness fool you! She likes to pounce, run around like crazy, climb, ride our slide and stalk big dogs that would consider her a snack. We're hoping her name will motivate her in becoming more ladylike.

For all of you who know our other pooch, Cowboy -- he's been a perfect gentleman with her. She's constantly pestering him, but he takes it like a saint (even allowing her to grab his toys and treats from him). Yes, we were rather surprised too!

Lilly Mae's original name was Lilly Pad, but we immediately knew the "pad" had to go. Who wants a dog named after a water plant?! Anyway, as for her history: this little gal, along with 200 other animals, were rescued from a "horder's" home in Pasco county. Out of the 200 taken, only Lilly and her mother survived! She's part beagle/blue-tick hound and about eleven weeks old. She shouldn't get any bigger than thirty pounds.

In the coming weeks I hope to post more pictures of Lilly (it's rather like having a baby in the house again, the camera is permanently out to capture those "oh, look what's she's doing now" moments). We appreciate you stopping by, please leave a comment...

P.S. In the next couple of days I'm planning to post tons of new photos that I've gotten within the last month or so...wedding, beach, playing around, etc. It should be fun! :o)