The Puppies Begin Leaving For Their New Homes

Wow, this has been an interesting two weeks ...

Here is the last picture of all of us together:

Our puppies.

Last Sunday afternoon, we experienced our first puppy leaving for a new home.  I am happy, as Jamie and Jason love our Yellow Girl (Kimber) and are very excited about her joining their family.  Jason stayed home with Kimber for a few days, and (in my opinion) she made a fairly smooth adjustment.  Here is Jason and Jamie with Kimber:

Kimber (Yellow Girl) with her new family, Jamie and Jason.

I had a little bit of time with Kimber before she left, with a last bonding moment:

Saying goodbye to Kimber (Yellow Girl).

After spending a couple of hours here, Jamie and Jason bundled up Kimber and headed home to Tracy.  She did fairly well in the car, having never been in one before.  As they drove off, Harley and I stood at the front door.  Harley was quite upset by Kimber's departure.  Holly?  She kicked up her heels -- one less puppy still nursing!

Two days later, I went in for hand surgery.  I have two pins sticking out of the back of my hand, holding my right ring finger in place.  My finger also had to be cut open to align the bone properly.  Here is Harley taking care of me after I got home:

Home from surgery and not feeling great -- but Harley takes care of me.

Two evenings later, Purple Girl (Gidget) went home with my sister Heather and her family.  Gidget is doing great!  I saw her yesterday, and her ears were completely up!  She is coming over this afternoon for a play date.  Here is a picture of Gidget before she left:

Gidget (Purple Girl).

And here is a picture of Gidget with her new family:

Gidget with her new family: my sister Heather, nephew Thomas (with Lars),
brother-in-law Steve (with Pinkie), nephew Lucas (with Gidget), and of course,
our beloved Harley.

Yesterday, Steve demonstrated Gidget's new trick:  the Harley high-five.  She gets her second set of shots next weekend (with Lars and Dexter), and then it's off to puppy school!

Last weekend, my good friend Beth and her husband, Mike, came to pick up Blue Girl (Bella).  Here is a picture of our Bella:

Our beautiful Blue Girl, Bella.

Bella had the toughest trip (to-date) to her new home.  Mike and Beth drove back to Temecula last Sunday.  It took them about eight hours to get there, because of the many Bella stops.  She cuddled up to Beth for the entire journey, doing some bonding there.  And no accidents! When they stopped, she did her business.  

Bella has adjusted extremely well to her new home.  She got her first shots last week, weighing in at over 20 lbs.  She starts puppy school quite soon.  Her new playmate is Daisy, a one-year-old golden retriever.  Apparently Bella has tried to nurse Daisy a few times!  The miniature dachshund, Zoe, is quite happy to let Bella and Daisy roughhouse without her.  Here is Beth and Mike with Bella:

Beth and Bella.

Mike with Bella.

Friday morning, a young man named Danny came to look at our Orange Girl.  Danny works with our trainer/friend, Jim, at Pet Extreme in Livermore.  Danny is 19, and is quite excited about having a german shepherd.  He is an energetic guy, which is good, because Orange Girl is rather energetic herself.  Here is our Orange Girl as we get ready to say goodbye to her:

Our Orange Girl.

Here is Orange Girl with Danny.  He is thinking of naming her either Sasha or Shayla (great names!):

Danny with Orange Girl.

Orange Girl on her way to her new home.

So, that leaves us with Dexter (Green Boy), Lars (Red Boy), and Pinkie.  Andrew and Tanya are taking Dexter to San Diego next weekend.  Here is a picture of them with Dexter before Andrew went back to school:

Andrew with Dexter, aka Harley Jr.

Tanya and Dexter.

Jake needs to get settled in San Luis Obispo before he takes Lars.  Here they are together:

Jake with Lars (Red Boy).

And Pinkie?  We are looking for just the right owner for her...

Harley plays with Pinkie (Pink Girl).

Our Pinkie.

Here are some pictures of the puppies at play,

Puppy playtime.

our puppies learning to sit,

The mob learning to sit.

our puppies sleeping,

Morning naptime.

and our puppies getting ready for bed:

Bedtime!

Next weekend we are hoping Gidget and Kimber will come over for some puppy playtime.  I will try to post a new blog after that!

Eight Weeks Old and ready to take on the world!

My how time flies!  These puppies are so beautiful, so smart, so fun-loving! At eight weeks of age, they are barking, running up and down the stairs,  trying to attack Felix (the cat), getting into mischief at every turn, and just genuinely enjoying life.  They are just doing great!

The puppies will be going to new homes soon.  Here is what we have so far:

Purple Girl is becoming Gidget (great name)!  My sister Heather and her family is taking her.  Gidget weighed in at 14.5 lbs. this morning at the vet's office.  She will go to her new home some time this week.  Here is our Gidget:

Purple Girl (Gidget) playing ball with my nephew Lucas.  

And here is Gidget playing with her littermates:

I am so excited that the Babati family is taking Gidget! I think she will be a great puppy for them.  And also I will get to see her regularly!

Next up is Red Boy.  Red Boy went to the vet today as well for his first set of shots.  He weighed in at 18.9 lbs.!!! My older son Jake is 90% certain that he is taking Red Boy.    If Jake does indeed take Red Boy, he is thinking of naming him Lars.  Here is a great picture of Lars (Red Boy):

Red Boy (Lars?) waiting for dinner.  This puppy
has the sweetest disposition!

Here is a picture of me with Red Boy:

In the birth line-up, Pink Girl is up next.  She looks alot like Gidget, but weighs maybe a pound more.  Our home for Pink Girl fell through, and I am so worried about finding a good home for her.  She is a beautiful puppy, with alot of spirit, but she can be very sweet and loving.  Here is my baby Pink Girl:

Our beautiful Pink Girl at eight weeks of age.

Here is a picture of me with her:

A picture of me holding Pink Girl.  Here it is, August, and look how I am
bundled up!

Next is Green Boy, aka Dexter.  Green Boy had his first shots this morning too.  He weighed in at 17 lbs!  Unbelievable. Heather, Jake and I went to the vet together, taking Purple Girl, Green Boy and Red Boy. The puppies did really well, considering the only outside place they have been is the backyard! Dexter continues to look the most like Harley, but I think he will be bigger than Harley.  At nine weeks of age, Harley weighed 12.6 lbs.  Big difference there ...  Here is Dexter -- isn't he gorgeous?

Green Boy (aka Dexter) at eight weeks of age.

My younger son Andrew is taking Dexter.  He has found a condo in San Diego near school that not only takes dogs, but is creating a dog park in the complex!  I think Dexter is going to do just fine.  Here he is with Orange Girl and Red Boy (Lars???) taking a snooze:

Dexter (Green Boy) snoozing with Orange Girl and Lars (Red Boy).

Next up in birth order is Yellow Girl.  Yellow Girl is turning into Kimber.  Kimber is our biggest girl.  She is such a sweetheart!  Jamie and her husband Jason are taking Kimber.  She will be leaving us Monday evening, but I hope we get to see her regularly, as she will be nearby in Tracy.  Here is our very happy Yellow Girl (oops, I mean Kimber):

Yellow Girl (Kimber) at eight weeks of age.

Yellow Girl is large enough that she isn't in the "girl" pack.  Neither is Blue Girl.  The "girl pack" consists of Purple, Pink and Orange Girl.  They are constantly fighting and wrestling and taking one another out.  When Kimber wrestles she always wins:

Next in the line-up is Orange Girl.  Orange Girl weighs about 14 lbs.  She has been doing great since she came home from the hospital.  I don't have a home for Orange Girl either.  It makes me so sad. I have posted ads, but no response.  Orange Girl is extremely smart, and she prances when she walks.  She is a leader, which is interesting because she is the smallest.  I need to find an excellent home for her!!!  Here is our Orange Girl:

Orange Girl at eight weeks of age.  She is fully recovered and running the pack!

Our energetic Orange Girl takes a rest.

Last, but definitely not least there is Blue Girl.  Blue Girl is going home with my very good friend Beth to Temecula next weekend.  Blue Girl is turning into Shasta, the last I heard.  Check out this perfect GSD stance by Blue Girl.  She was watching her Holly mommy retrieve a ball:

Blue Girl at eight weeks of age in a perfect stance for a german shepherd dog (GSD). 

Blue Girl gets in there and wrestles tooth and nail, but what I really like about her is that she is so loving.  She lays across my feet whenever she gets the opportunity.  She comes to me for love and affection whenever I sit down.  But she certainly can hold her own with her littermates; she even shares a food bowl with Red Boy:

Blue Girl (Shasta?) shares a food bowl with Red Boy (Lars) -- not an easy task!

And here is my beautiful baby Harley:

Harley at almost three years of age.  August, 2010.

and my gorgeous Holly girl:

Holly keeping an eye on her 8-week-old pups.

Here are some of my favorite pictures taken this week:

Blue Girl and Yellow Girl hanging out -- 8 weeks old.

Lucas getting mobbed by five puppies!

Putting Pink Girl to sleep in my arms.

Red Boy (Lars?) looking noble.

The girls hanging out:  Blue Girl (Shasta?), Pink Girl, Orange Girl.

I will leave you with a final video for today.  Here is what happens when puppies get new toys.  (After Harley has used it, of course).  Kimber (Yellow Girl) struts her stuff here:

I will be laid up for a few weeks, as I have to have surgery on my right hand.  (Fractured and re-fractured ring finger).  I will try to keep up with posts as the puppies go to new homes, and let you know how Harley and Holly do with a nearly empty nest.