Announcing my family's new puppy Rusty!

After Shadow's death, Emma was really wanting a new puppy. I was with her and Hazel as they got on Petfinder.com on Sunday, February 8. They found a toy poodle/terrier mix that Emma absolutely adored. Before the week was over, my family contacted Burton's foster lady, and Burton was going to be ours. Emma made the decison to rename him Rusty because of the rust colored fur on parts of his body.

Hazel and Sage joined us on February 15, and we drove to a gas station in Somerset, Kentucky. Rusty and his foster mother were waiting for us in their van, and as soon as Rusty met us, he immediatly started giving kisses, as is evident in the picture I took below.

Here is a cute picture of Rusty turning to look at me while still in Mommy's arms.

Rusty and Emma had a wonderful first encounter.

Rusty was looking at me once again while being in Emma's arms.



Rusty seemed quite content resting his head on Emma's shoulder.



This is a cute picture of Rusty and Sage together.

Mommy got to cup Rusty's head in her hands, another sign of bonding.

We got into our car prettty quickly because it was so cold outside. I sat in the front seat, where I had a good view of Rusty and Emma together. Mommy sat beside them, and in this picture, her hand is visable helping Emma give Rusty a treat.

Sage was on the other side of Rusty, and it was pretty cute watching Sage give Rusty a treat.

We had gotten a small dog cone for Rusty to pull treats out of, which Rusty immediatly was interested in as shown in this picture. Hazel was petting Rusty at this time.

Emma just loved having Rusty in her lap, with Rusty being her own puppy.

Rusty gave Emma the classic kiss on the cheek.

Mommy borrowed my camera and took this sweet picture of Rusty and Emma in a hug.

Mommy got to hold Rusty once again. I had a nice view of Rusty's face looking towards me.

Hazel then had a turn with Rusty.

Rusty got to have a final farewell with his foster mother before going home with his new family.

Sage was loving our first encounter with Rusty, and Rusty liked Sage too.

Rusty rode on Emma's lap all the way home. Later on, I took a picture of Rusty resting on top of a fancy pillow that sat on the leather couch. It was like he was on a throne.

Rusty got to come over to my house soon after we got him. Daddy was putting together bookcases for me and brought Rusty with him. Rusty started following Pippin around like he had been earlier following my family's cat Charlie. Neither cat is thrilled by our new addition to the family, though Rusty just wants to make friends with them. Rusty got on my couch and looked at me once again as I took this picture.

Daddy had to go on my deck to cut wood, and Rusty stood at the window watching him. He was really eager for Daddy to come back in.

Once Daddy came back in, Rusty happily greeted him, and then he jumped onto the couch again, quite content for a rest.

Here is a full view of Rusty, with the setting much more informal than my family's couch.

Rusty continued to follow Daddy around, and he was glad for Daddy to pick him up again and carry him back to the other house. Daddy was picking him up right through my cat gate.

Mommy had thrown away Shadow's old dog bed, but I knew Pippin didn't want his cat bed, and it seemed to be the right size for Rusty. I took Pippin's cat bed to the other house, and Rusty loves it!

Here Rusty is sitting up on a different couch pillow with two of his playtoys, quite happy with his new home and family.

I love this close-up I took of Rusty playing with his blue hippo, with his figure standing out from the shadows of the couch.

Here Rusty is peacefully sleeping away.

He raised his head to glance over at Emma, making for another sweet picture.

I sat beside Rusty the next morning and took this picture. I'm still getting used to him, but he and I are bonding some more, with Rusty greeting me when I arrive and even sitting in my lap. He very much carries the spirit of our old dogs Missy and Shadow. I'm taking plenty more pictures of him, plus continuing to take pictures of Pippin. I love having such pictures of our cherished pets.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I drew this picture by hand and loaded it onto my blog to share with everyone. It was inspired by a baby cardinal I managed to take away from Pippin who had carried it inside. After getting Pippin to drop the cardinal, it took some time to get Pippin back outside. I then called Daddy, who came over to made sure that Pippin wouldn't capture the baby cardinal again when I opened the sliding door. We opened the door and watched together as it reunited with its daddy who was waiting for it despite earlier theats from Pippin. I was very touched as the daddy cardinal and its child flew away together. I imagined this scene afterwards. Even though that rescue was last summer, its nice to have a winter backdrop too. The daddy cardinal protective of his child reminds me of those close to me, including how I've been there for Pippin. I hope all of you are having a good Valentine's Day. I'm thankful for every single friend!