Monday, September 22, 2008

Happiness is a Warm Puppy


We have a new member in our family. I'd like you to meet Kajetan, our new puppy. He's a 7.5 week old red Doberman. He isn't actually "red". He's chocolate brown with tan markings. In this breed that color combination is referred to as "red" though.

I wasn't ready for a new puppy when I came across this little guy's litter. But his breeding was too good to pass up. His parents are titled in conformation as well as obedience (which actually means more to me), the same as my Caesar's were.

For those of you who may not have seen a Doberman puppy before, you'll notice that they aren't born with pointed ears. They have to be cropped to achieve that look. When I got Caesar his ears were already cropped so I had no choice. But I'm not willing to put my puppy through that unnecessary surgery for solely cosmetic reasons. So he will keep the "natural" ears he was born with.

You're probably wondering, what's with the name, Kajetan? It took a full two weeks to decide on his name. I wanted a Polish name, something uncommon but fairly easy to pronounce. That last part was a real challenge! I can't tell you how many times I went cover to cover through William F. Hoffman's book, First Names of the Polish Commonwealth: Origins & Meanings, because I've lost track. I made lists and discussed them with my family. They're a hard group to please. In the end my husband and I made the decision on his name. We'll call him Kaj (rhymes with "tie" and "bye") for short which is a nickname for Kajetan as well as a name in its own right.

Kaj spent his first night with us last night and none of got any sleep. That boy's got a set of lungs on him that's for sure! Boy oh boy am I dragging tail this morning.

Kaj and Vladi (my cat) are getting along wonderfully. They both chase and tackle each other and romp around the house together. Both are the same size right now (10 lbs) but that won't last for long.

He just fell asleep... now's my chance to get somework done!

"It's Falling" quick page by Linda Walton of Bon Scrapatit Designs.