December 30, 2010

White Dog looked over at Puff who was mimicking her every move as they patrolled the house and smiled. We have thought it amazing many times over the 6 weeks that Puff has been with us just how similar these two Kansas girls truly are.

Tonight White Dog sat on my arm overseeing my recovery from the flu. SAWD asked for "up" to the other arm of the chair ( a first) and sat like the other bookend. I was touched that she wanted to be my caregiver, too, and leaned back to bask in the Eski-ness.

Slowly, very deliberately, Puff stretched her head the other way and reached down to the table where the jerky treats are kept. Her movements were taken from the WD Ballet of Giraffe-Necking. I grabbed the bag a nanosecond before it disappeared, but could not resist opening it and giving the sly girl a treat. The tap on my other arm reminded me that there was a commission that needed to be paid to WD as well.

Puff is the only other member of the White Dog Army besides it founder who sits at the window perch and oversees the world. Sometimes as we pull up in the car, it is difficult to tell at first whether it is WD or SAWD at the lookout; they are so similar in their pose and attitude.

She is as stubborn as White Dog yet exhibits the same dainty eating habits...except WD would never dream of just bulldozing into Quinn and nosing him away from his food bowl. But when it comes to taking treats or eating from human fingers, SAWD practices perfect party manners.

Puff's adjustment is still slow in terms of her timidness with humans but she has developed a sense of place within the pack. As she has gotten healthier, she has gotten bolder and more curious and her eyes and coat are beginning to sparkle. It is hard to remember at times, that she still fights Heartworms and their secondary risks.

White Dog is hardest on the littlest one, partly because, I think, she knows that Puff is capable of meeting those expectations. There will be a day when, like Quinn, Puff takes WD's commands with a relative grain of salt and is not at all intimidated. She already pushes the envelope by sleeping on the bedroom floor after her early morning necessary break...and amazingly enough, White Dog, curled up in the comforter against me on the bed, lets the trespass slide. Our Puff is a feisty one beneath her timid facade!

Health Update: Puff is scheduled for the final one-two punch of Heartworm medication on January 3rd and 4th. Then after a couple of months she will be retested with a complete workup. If all is well then she gets a preventative to kill any remaining eggs/larvae. By the beginning of Summer, SAWD should be back to complete health...paws and fingers crossed.