Personal Post: Pieper’s "Adoptiversary"

Yesterday was one year since we picked up the tiny six pound puppy Pieper at the PetSmart branch of the Humane Society here in Green Bay.  We had stopped there the day before to look at a puppy my brother was interested in, but couldn’t resist the tiny little black and white mix who looked so melancholy wandering around quietly in her kennel.  Ben had never wanted a dog - he hadn’t grown up with pets and saw a dog only as an inevitability (since he decided to marry me) but something he could hold off on until he was ganged up on by his wife and future children.  When he held little Pieper in his arms and she wriggled her way right in, he had this change of expression, and I knew we were getting a puppy.

When we picked Pieper up, she was named Brianna and we were told she was a rat terrier/husky mix and would be a medium size dog... we were in for a surprise.  As the weeks wore on, she got longer, and longer, and longer, but barely any taller.  We had her in puppy classes where she started as the biggest dog in class (being a few weeks old than the other puppies) and by the end of those six weeks, she was by far the smallest.  Now, fully grown, she is just over 16 pounds.  I never thought of myself as a small dog person, but I don’t think Pieper knows her size; she is one tough little dog.

Yesterday Pieper and I celebrated one year together with a trip back to PetSmart for some goodies and a visit with her teacher, then headed over to the Howard dog park for a hike on the trails and some play time with other doggies.  Happy Adoptiversary, Pieper; we’re glad to have you as part of our family!

Personal Post: Fun Weekend with the Puppies!

We spent this weekend up in Door County puppysitting my brother’s dog, Echo, the fluffy little mini aussie in all the photos with Pieper.  We weren’t sure what we were taking on since they like to spend 90% of their time together wrestling and we planned on having them in public all day, but it ended up being a wonderful weekend.  We took them into Sturgeon Bay to see a couple bands perform at Steelbridge Songfest, grab some coffee and walk around downtown.  The puppies were super good, just laying down, listening to the music and putting on their sweet faces in hopes of getting attention from concert attendees.

After a little picnic, we headed up to Ephraim for Fyr Bal Festival (which is the Scandinavian tradition of “burning the winter witch” to signal the end of a long winter - much needed this year!)  We walked down to Anderson Dock, let them do a little wading in the water at the beach and headed back for the bonfire lightings and fireworks.  It was a little drizzly but that didn’t stop the show, and we still set up our blankets and wrapped up with the puppies.  Pieper and Echo loved exploring all the new places and meeting the many people, and we loved all the attention two cute puppies bring. :)