Introducing Miss Harleen Weighing In At 11.6 Pounds

She's eight weeks old and a little doll. I had forgotten how good they smell at that age. That sweet puppy smell makes up for later in life when they role in cow pies or road kill.

You can't see much of her here but we will have more photos over the weekend. Our friend Steve and his wife Janet were there for the big event. Steve and Kerry both took tons of pictures. She was a furry starlit on the red carpet at the Academy Awards for cute pups and she didn't even notice it.

Kerry confessed that he already loves her; me too. The green stuff by her right ear is the stuff they put on her ear before she is tattooed with the CCI phone number. That must have hurt.

So here's what she went through in the last 24 hours: saying goodbye to mom, eating kibble, traveling to the Santa Rosa CCI kennel, sleeping in the kennel last night with her brother Heron, being poked, prodded, shot and tattooed by the vet today and then being handed over to us for a 150-mile drive back to Lincoln where she was greeted by Kate the border collie and our two cats. Right now she's in her crate in our bedroom with her food. Actually right now she's asleep in the crate with her paws almost wrapped around the food dish.

A sad outcome for Heron; the person who was going to raise him called this morning to say she couldn't do it. Now they are faced with further disruption in his life by sending him to a foster home before he is adopted. Poor guy. He deserves better especially with a name like "heron."

On the trip home she rode in her new soft carrier in the car. She cried and yipped from Santa Rosa to Sonoma; about 45 minutes. Then she fell asleep and only let her presence be known with occasional yips. She did not like those bumps on Interstate 80 where they have not yet repaved.

We have been told that no matter what sounds she makes during the night when she is in her crate, we are to ignore her. If she "soils" her crate she has to sleep in it til morning. That's a good way to reinforce don't poop/pee where you eat. So this is our life and her life. The grand adventure begins. We had the orientation person in stitches describing anyone named Harleen as a waitress in a west Texas diner who chews gum, has big blond hair and calls everyone honey. At one point I said, why I don't know, "once an asshole always an asshole." Steve and I worked with many of them. Neena from CCI cracked up.