Althea Jayne | Welcome Home

On September 2 we welcomed our new baby home.  I’d looked all over the country for the right baby.  There were options in Denver, Louisiana, Florida, and Pennsylvania.  I was certain I’d be taking a road trip to get her.  But surprisingly, she was in just the next town over.  She was just 30 days old the first day I got to meet her and I feel in love immediately. 

Althea Jayne came 8 weeks to the day that we lost Hazel.  She began the healing process from that loss, for us.  Since coming to be with us at the monstrous size of 2.9 pounds, she has proven to have a personality a million times her size.  She loves to sleep.  And beginning even at 8 weeks old, she slept through the night.  She needs to be touched and will sleep like a scarf around you neck.  She loves to be loved on. 

The other dogs are taking to her well.  Cass, although 20x Althea’s weight, plays gently and often with her.  Olive always takes a while to warm up, but by week 2 she was finally letting Althea snuggle in as the little spoon. 

Despite it still being busy season I was able to get some studio time in with the little doll.  She did so good.  We are currently working on our sit/stay/come commands and will test out the studio again after we have some training down.  Stay tuned for some cute ideas coming soon.

We all know this year has been nothing but trial, trouble, torture, and heartache.  But in the middle of all those things, if you look really close and really hard, you will see beauty, grace, and hope.  Perhaps not in any way you’ve ever seen them before.  All the struggle this year, has forced us to look at things fresh.  I wasn’t looking, but was shone something beyond beautiful. 

10 days after we laid Hazel in the ground, a cat showed up at the house.  He was skinny, full of fleas and worms, and just wanting to be held.  I got him into the vet to get rid of all the bugs the next day.  I don’t know where he came from but he wasn’t leaving.  He commandeered my front porch chair and waited for me every morning and evening – that was now his spot.  And did he love his snuggles!  He needed to be held like a baby every morning.  He became quite the comedian around here; climbing trees, the pergola, and would chase me out to the garden and smack me as he whipped past me.  Totally a funny guy.  He slowly started to put on weight and grow his fur back and began turning into quite the beautiful boy. 

I’m not a cat person, but Scoots (the boys named him) started to grow on me.  I looked forward to him greeting me every time I came home or walked out the door.  He really took my mind off losing Hazel and filled a little of the space of her needy loveyness while we waited for the new puppy to come home.  And just like 2020, he was gone 10 days after the puppy came home.  He died of cardiac arrest on the table at his neuter. 

Can you even believe that?  10 days after when we needed him, he showed up.  And just like that, he was gone.