March 25, 2016

White Dog led the greeting from her "throne," the arm of my chair; the rest of the White Dog Army flooded over Storm to sniff and taste and nuzzle. He was unchallenged by the Army, our California Storm, and he did his share of getting to know his brothers and sisters.

In those first moments we learned, he is vocal (able to out talk Zsofia), he is brave (stood firm in the possibility of getting bowled over by the rush), he is bossy (yes, an Eskie all right). We worked our way into the house and immediately out the dog door (led by the pack) to take care of business and check out the yard.

When all returned White Dog called the excited Army to order. "Welcome to the White Dog Army, brother! Forever we are bound to you and you to us...and in honor of that you shall be known as California Storm Marie, White Dog with a Silver Lining. May you always remind us that there is a silver lining behind every Storm."

YoYoMa called for the song of our people and all threw their hearts and souls into the 27 verses. At the end, Steve opened the bag and passed out duck jerky. I had the honor of breaking the piece into bites to offer our newest family member...guess what? He loved it!

Now the evening draws to a close. It has been a long and exciting day and C.A. sleeps exhaustedly tucked among the others in the office with us. It is always a source of amazement that a whole new personality walks in the door with his own ideas and ways of doing things and blends immediately into our pack...and the WDA celebrates the arrival and an hour later it is as if Storm has always been here. There will be adjustments, I know, but the welcome and introductions could not have been smoother...well, see for yourself: