Pendleton + Molly (+ Jasper)

Megan and I decided to introduce Molly the kitten (or Mrs. Weasley as we call her because we are more formal, obviously) to Pendleton. We let them see each other for a few minutes inside and then, because I didn't really like the lighting, we decided to take them outside to the front porch where Jasper the wonder dog (who now lives outside in the back yard and is loving it) couldn't hear us (we thought).

The kitty and hedgehog seemed to get along just fine once Molly realized that pouncing on him wasn't a very smart idea.

We were receiving some spectacular glares from her when this happened:

The brute jumped over the temporary side fence and almost knocked me over in his rush to get to the kitten who he just wants to love. Unfortunately, she does not share his feelings, not even a tiny bit. The poor fellow had quite a scratched up nose for a while. 

Meanwhile, Pendleton just smooshed his face down into the ground because if he can't see them, they can't see him, obviously.

Mrs. Weasley glared at Jasper some more and then decided he was not worth her time.

 Jasper still loves her.

Saltwater State Park + Jasper

In February, we had a really, really warm day one Friday or something so we decided to take the pup to his first ocean experience. We headed over to Saltwater State Park.

This was his reaction to the beach.

I know.

This whole post is mainly just pictures of Jasper because I am still obsessed with him.

He was so little!

I still cuddle him like this and he still has the same look on his face when I do.

It's hard to remember sometimes that we could easily lift Jasper only a couple of months ago. I think he weighed less than 30 pounds then. I would probably throw my back out if I tried to lift him now.

And a little bear cub picture to take us out!

Jasper + Pendleton

We've been working kind of hard to get Jasper (pup) and Pendleton (hedgehog) to exist in the same room together without a)Pendleton having a heart attack or b)Jasper ending up with a mouthful of quills.

Jasper just gets SO excited whenever he discovers that hedgehog in the room. He bounces around sniffing excitedly while Pendleton turns into a ball of really sharp points and hisses ferociously. Inevitably, Jasper gets too close with his sniffing and receives a poke in the nose. By then he has usually had it with all the excitement and starts barking at this frustrating little ball that won't stop hissing at him or hurting him when he tries to play. He's actually kind of terrified of the hedgehog.

Meanwhile, Pendleton wonders why he keeps being prodded (and occasionally licked) and why won't this gigantic nose stop bothering him.

I mean, it's Megan's fault, really. She bought Pendleton a little hedgehog friend stuffed animal when she first got him, which he ignored completely. Eventually it was passed down to Jasper in his early puppyhood. And who would blame him when he tried to pick up his toy which actually happened to be a real live hedgehog?

Thus began the Jasper/Pendleton relationship.

So we decided to try again a few times and finally accomplished something when we managed to have Jasper lay quietly until Pendleton got used to him.

To be fair, Pendleton isn't actually a very nice hedgehog friend to Jasper. When Jasper wasn't paying attention to him, he tried to crawl on him and/or poke him on purpose. This sent Jasper two feet into the air and it was actually really hilarious, but it doesn't really do much for mutual trust, if you know what I mean.

Then Jasper got real protective of his rawhide bone.

At one point, Jasper was actually chasing Pendleton around the room barking. Generally the second Pendleton hears a loud noise, he rolls into a ball, so this was real progress. 

This hedgehog knows who's in charge around here.

I can't believe I'm blogging about this dog again

The other day, we took Jasper on his first walk. The weather was lovely, crisp, and not too cold. Perfect!

We took him to a trail nearby. He sniffed a few dogs, licked a little kid on the face, and was admired by countless adoring walkers. We also discovered that he is scared of bicyclists when he jumped about two feet backwards as one sped toward us.

Above is Jasper looking at his first cat. He was intrigued.

 

 

This is the sweetest little puppy you will ever see. I've never been this crazy pet person, but I can't get over this dog. It's a strange new experience for me.

I can't believe how big he has grown already. At 14 weeks, he weighs 32 pounds and his paws keep getting bigger and bigger.

P.S. Jasper on his first day home.

The New Pup

There's a new puppy around here.

His name is Jasper and he tries his best to be a good pup. 

He's a pretty good model when he's a little sleepy but the rest of the time he's a blur.

I'm more than a little obsessed with this tiny baby. Except he's not so tiny because he weighs 17 pounds at 10 weeks. He's a German Shepherd/Border Collie mix and he's perfectly fuzzy, as you can see. He feels like the softest stuffed animal.

Jasper enjoys his daily carrots and apples in the mornings while we juice our breakfast and practice his sitting skills. He's not especially fond of rain, but does enjoy a good mud patch to dig around in. And he likes to eat fir branches (is that bad?).

We've (and by we, I mean my parents) only had him for about a week and a half, but he's probably the smartest puppy I've ever met. He's almost completely potty-trained and he figured out how to get out of his kennel. Have I mentioned he's only 10 weeks old?

I just want to cuddle him all the time.