Puppy Love

She's almost 7 months old...

and I love her more every day. This is a face that can make me smile no matter what :)

Making a Memory

You know those days when you wish that you could stop time and take a "memory"? Turn those precious moments into something tangible that you could keep hidden; for the days when the clouds roll in and nothing seems to go right. Moments like walking on the beach and having a flock of birds swoop and fly all around me, holding my breath and smiling because life is good. When rushing to work, stepping outside, and pausing at the first sweet perfume of spring. And then there are whole afternoons that just define happiness.

At the head of the Westport River, there is a small country store where townies chat over hot cups of coffee and tourists sit with their sticky-faced kids and bask in the sun with melting ice cream cones. This time of year the tourists haven't arrived yet and we enjoyed sitting in peace and looking out over the river.

The chairs were freshly painted, in every color of the rainbow, and the smell of fresh cut grass was in the air.

We enjoyed coney island hotdogs and sipped on cold cans of soda. Sahara was more interested in lapping up water from a bottle rather than her shiny water bowl. Trotting along the river, chewing on tufts of grass or watching ripples in the river, she was a very happy puppy.

Sunshine, my hubs, and Sahara...what else could I ask for?

The country store has a beautiful mural painted on the back of the building, where they have a big back yard with lush green grass, handcrafted bird houses nestled into the tree branches, and picnic tables under the shade of brightly colored umbrellas.

The chairs are placed along the river bank amid big, old trees that provide shade from the bright rays of sun.

As we sat and relaxed on that wonderful afternoon Martin counted 18 bird houses, some hidden among branches way up out of reach. Some are painted, some are simply constructed of wood, and some have little metal roofs. The whole yard is beyond charming.

Sahara discovered a spot between two giant stones and as she peeked her little head over the edge to peer at the water, she saw her reflection. She stayed that way for at least ten minutes, popping her head over the edge, hiding between the rocks, and then peeking at herself in the river again and again.

An afternoon spent by the river is not complete without a sweet treat...and that means ice cream! Creamy frozen yogurt, pretty purple black raspberry, with sweet chocolate chips swirled throughout. We strolled to the other side of the bridge, feeling the soft green grass between our toes, and sat beneath a tree among the dandelions to enjoy our dessert.

We even got Sahara a surprise...her very first vanilla ice cream. She LOVED the scoop of rich vanilla ice cream and managed to get it all over her nose and chin. Sahara loves cold things, like ice cubes, so she adored her first taste of ice cream.

The river connects to the ocean a few miles down and it was clearly high tide, as the water spilled over the sides of the river banks.

The river was full to the brim, seeping through the grass. We carried our flip flops and walked by the water's edge, enjoying the sun's warmth and the cool water.

Sahara thought the rocks along the river were fun to run along and she fearlessly charged through puddle after puddle. She pounced on floating leaves and munched on yellow dandelions.

I skipped across the rocks, snapping pictures, and watched the water start to recede back out to the ocean. It slowly slipped over the rocks, leaving puddles and damp grass, that the heat of the sun quickly dried.

We lounged in the grass, sometimes talking, sometimes just looking at the beauty around us. This little pup was so good; she loved the water, the sun, and the grassy hills she ran up and down.

The warmth of the sun, the coolness of the river, the sweetness of our ice cream cones, and the laughter we shared as Sahara tumbled through the grass are all details I want to remember forever. She will not be a puppy forever but afternoons like this are ones we will surely try to recreate...as often as possible. Maybe making a memory is not about capturing it but letting it go so that we can create it again...and enjoy it all over again. Loving this journey...

Sun, Sand & Surf

The beach is a necessity for me. Nothing brings me more peace than walking the sandy shore and listening to the lull of the waves. I love exploring the ever-changing shoreline and feeling the smoothness of the shells with my fingertips. We sometimes escape to the beach on weeknights with dinner packed and let the stress of the day disappear as we talk about our day. My favorite time of the day at the beach is the evening, as the sun sets over the wave with colorful promises of returning in the morning.
Sarah, my college roommate came to visit and what I love about spending time with her is that we can do nothing and still have a fabulous time. We can talk about anything and pick up where we left off no matter how long since the last time we got together. I was so happy that she was coming down for the evening and that she got to see Sahara while she is still pure puppy. Needless to say, we had a great time.

We arrived at the beach and Sahara was entranced by the waves, she just sat there watching them roll in. As the sun set the few people who had ventured out climbed into their vehicles and drove off, leaving us to play in the sand and enjoy the last few rays of sunshine.

The beach still has piles of rocks and shells from the intense winter storms and we let her loose as she perused the hills.

She was not quite sure what to make of the sand but once she got used to it she loved the stretch of beach and ran to her heart's content. She chased us, kicking up sand, and making us all laugh at her "puppiness".

Her puppy energy kept her going for quite some time but eventually she got tired out and would pause, only to take off after a gust of wind a split second later.

The sunset was beautiful and seemed to take it's time, almost as if to let us enjoy the first trip to the beach with our new little addition.

She loved Sarah, trotted by her side, chased her ankles, and would then remember that there were other people to play with and come racing over, tail wagging, for an assuring pat and to make sure we were still there.

A much needed breather with her toy, although it did not last long, exploring took top priority.

We raced around the beach, being carefree and enjoying the innocence of a puppy discovering sand and surf for the first time.

Sahara loves to sit between his long spread out legs, and it is as if she was always ours. She just belongs.

As the sun went down, Sahara laid on Martin's chest and Sarah and I strolled on the beach, feeling the warmth leave the sand between our toes and watching the sun make it's final descent below the horizon. A wonderful evening at the beach, with many more to come.

Our Newest Addition ~ Sahara

There are cat people and there are dog people. I am now thoroughly confused as to what type of person I am thanks to a little puppy now named Sahara. I have always had a cat. I love their independent personalities, their comical ways, and their furry little faces. Mojave is what I like to call our liger. He's a big, fun, hilarious cat. We've had him since he was only a few weeks old. We found him at the Rhode Island SPCA and fell in love when we saw him hiding in a corner peeking out at us.

Now, Martin loves Mojave but he is definitely a dog person. He has always had a dog, except for the past few years, and we have been talking about getting a wagging tailed companion for some time now. We knew that we wanted to rescue a dog, but after doing some research realized that while rescuing young adult dogs is something great that we would love to do, there are alot of negatives. Many have behavioral issues that can come out after being adopted, issues with children, uniforms, etc. Many have been abused and or neglected and they can be unpredictable. We played with a year and a half year old yellow lab that we found at one particular shelter for almost two hours. He was adorable and we even got him to follow some basic commands. There was just something about his lack of eye contact, his lack of interest in humans that made us think he just wasn't the right dog for us.
We had researched about adopting puppies and found that there are extreme overages down south, especially in the midwest and the carolina's. There are high kill shelters and these groups of puppies are either euthanized or gassed since they cannot take care of them.
We had visited the Potter League in Middletown, RI last week and they informed us that each month they bring up a batch of these litters of puppies in order to get them adopted to loving homes. They had their "April batch" arrive Wednesday, quarantined them for two days to make sure they were healthy, and then they are up for adoption! We stopped by Saturday morning, walked down the brightly lit hallway, peering into rooms and seeing wagging tails, curled up dogs, and big wide eyes gazing back at us. We walked to where the puppies were being kept and there were piles of them! Warm, cozy, fuzzy piles of sleeping puppies. 24 puppies ready to be adopted.

We oohed and aahed along with the other people peeking through the windows and as we walked around the corner we saw her. She trotted right over, perched herself at the window, looking right at us, so excited to be getting attention. Her tail was going a mile a minute and after glancing at the rest of the puppies we decided to ask to take her out. As she trotted out on her rainbow leash she snuggled right up to our legs, jumping to be picked up. If dogs smiled, she definitely had a permanent grin on her adorable little face.

We took her out to the hallway, sat with her, played with her, let her lick our faces, and she was greeting every single dog and person that came her way. We took her for a walk outside, where she fought the leash. She did not understand what was tied to her neck. It was funny to watch. She tried to eat a rock before we scooped her up and got that out of her mouth. The entire time she stayed right by our sides. When she got scared by a noise or a big dog she would run to us and beg to be picked up. We brought her back inside and told the lady at the front desk that we would like to adopt her. She pulled our application that we had on file and made a few notations. Then we headed back to the room where she had been staying with her litter mates. The lady read over the identification papers and placed a yellow tag that said, "Hold - Barela". We couldn't stand to put her back in her room just yet so we headed to a visiting room where we gave her some treats, played with a tennis ball, let some cute little kids pet her, and let her climb all over us.

She eventually got tired and we regretfully brought her back to her room. She got all excited to see her litter mates again, then she realized we were leaving and she started to scratch at the window frantically. It broke my little heart.

She is a 8 week old lab mix and we originally thought she was part german shepard, but now that we have looked at different pictures of other breeds, she very well might be mixed with a beagle. Either way, she is adorable and oh so loveable. We go to puppy orientation Wednesday where we get information, fill out some paperwork, get her "papers", get to ask questions, and take her home with us forever.
The Potter League is a wonderful organization. With the adoption of a puppy you get a crate for 3 months, a bag of Science Diet puppy food, 5 weeks of puppy obedience classes, behavorial assessments for life, and all of the necessary shots, vaccinations, and deworming that puppies need. We can't wait to pick Sahara up on Wednesday night. Her crate is set up with warm bedding ready for her wriggling little body, shiny food bowls ready to be filled up, fuzzy toys that squeak ready to be chewed on, treats ready to be devoured, a trolley is hung up in the yard, and her leash and collar are ready to bring her home.