This is Zara!

Zara is my new puppy and she is just as impish and adorable as she looks in this image.

I adopted Zara about a month ago and life has changed. As some of you may know, I had to put my dog, Taylor to sleep 6 weeks ago (https://chrismcwilliamsphotography.wordpress.com/2014/10/21/my-dog-taylor/).  It was a painful decision and I still feel the ache of putting him to sleep. I miss my Taylor but Zara has filled the void.

 

“Happiness is a warm puppy.”
― Charles M. Schulz

Zara is a rescue dog. She came from Pequis Reserve where 7 puppies from 2  litters had starved to death. 3 survived and my dog is one of them. Zara looks like she is part Corgi and part Lab. I think she’ll end up looking like a small Lab or a large Corgi. I love her tan and white colouring. 

Zara is nothing like Taylor was. Taylor was a quiet, calm dog. Zara is noisy and rambunctious. She loves to play and will play fetch for as long as anyone will throw a ball.  She takes things off tables and drags clothing through the house. Yesterday, while in the shower I heard a loud bang. I wondered what my little darling had done now. I discovered that she had knocked my cup of coffee off the kitchen table, splattering coffee all over the floor. The good thing was that the coffee was not hot and the mug did not break. Even better than that, it seemed to have scared Zara, as she was hiding in the bedroom. Let’s hope she remembers to not pull things off the table.

I have been working on training her. The most annoying thing that she was doing was pulling on my clothes and not letting go. It really made me crazy. A spray bottle with half lemon juice and half water plus the command “leave it.” has stopped this behaviour. I can’t tolerate her barking and a barking collar seems to be working for that.

I wanted a larger dog to come with me on my 5 km walks.  I’ve been working up to it with Zara and today, with the warmer temperatures, we walked the whole 5 km route. It has tired out my little princess and she’s been sleeping ever since.

My friend Margaret has lent Zara tons of toys and bones and Zara loves them! She loves to chew and make her toys squeak. She usually has something in her mouth much like a child in the oral change of child development.

I love her smile!

 

 

“Dogs don’t rationalize. They don’t hold anything against a person. They don’t see the outside of a human but the inside of a human.”
—Cesar Millan (dog trainer)

Zara has won me over. I love her to pieces. Life is not the same with her in my house but it is all good, even with socks being dragged around and coffee mugs clattering to the floor.  Even with the whining and the barking and the newspaper being shredded. In fact, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love having a dog and I especially love having this dog.