A fallible new year resolution?

I don't generally set myself up to fail by making resolutions, but I've entered a regular date in my Blackberry to update my blog.  As it will bleep and remind me, and it coincides with a time when I'll be left on my own for a couple of hours, there's a chance it may happen.
Quite a lot has happened since my last post, in a quiet sort of way.  The least quiet event was our household expanding by the count of one puppy.



We'd been looking for a puppy, the right puppy, for over a year.  It had to be a bitch, and a Bichon Frise cross that was unlikely to get too huge.  
We saw an A-board outside a bungalow on the way to Tewkesbury one weekend and this is what we found when we went to investigate.  It was the end of our search, so we paid a deposit - she was too young to leave her mum, and we were going away for a week - and arranged to collect her the following weekend.

We already had everything we needed apart from food, which we planned to get when we knew what she'd been weaned onto.  We'd had a collar and lead for a year, and had since accumulated a crate, dog bed, fleecy blankets, poo bags and a selection of toys.  We've since added harnesses and a special lead that clips into the seat belt for travelling in the car.  And more toys.

And this is Abby at just over 8 weeks shortly after she arrived. 

She was a fuzzy wuzzy little thing, like a bean bag teddy bear, when she first arrived. But she's been busy growing, and learning, and becoming a significant family member.  Even the cat likes her!

After she'd had all her jabs "The Team" went to puppy classes to learn how to do it all properly.  And they have a certificate to say they can!

The reason I'll have a couple of hours when I'm left to my own devices is because they are now going on to do their Bronze Paws award, which is to be followed eventually by Silver and Gold Paws.  They're a dedicated team and I'm proud of them.  

The last couple of weeks we've rather been taken over by teething; I've never found so many shed puppy teeth with previous dogs!  When she feels a bit low with it all she looks sad and comes for a cuddle, usurping the cat's place on my lap.  They get on amazingly well, but we were confident that they would.  Gypsy's not keen on other cats, and on a good day tends to be frosty to say the least with people, but has always got on well with dogs.  It looks as though they'll end up being much the same size, not so small you trip over them, and not to big to have on your lap.  Perfect!

Abby at 5 months
 Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.