After midnight...

...and this is the third time I've come downstairs because Savannah barked. Correction. Roared. Her roaring bark is enough to wake the dead, but she hasn't done this in quite some time, and she doesn't roar without a reason. When I came down here the second time, I opened up the back door and heard the most awful sort of howling. Sort of like a coyote, but more wolf-sounding. Do we have wolves up here in the hills? (Well, why not. We seem to have everything else.)

Being that the howling was way off in the woods, I brought Savannah outside to pee in the grass. While we were out there, we heard the howling again and Savannah wanted to go back up the stairs and into the house. No way... she got me up and out, so I was determined that she do something, which she did. I think Savannah has learned now that I'm not going to settle for taking her outside just to look at the stars.

When I got back into the house, Satchmo was awake and standing up in his crate. I put his leash on him and quickly brought him out into the grass also. Even in the middle of the night, this puppy is so happy to be inside, outside, wherever... he is just the ultimate definition of happy.  Satchmo quickly used the grass and back we came into the house and he quietly went into his crate. This puppy has slept through every night without so much as a whimper. I have only taken Satchmo out into the grass after midnight when Savannah has woken me up for a wildlife inspection.

Satchmo had a busy day today.... Gloria from down the road came to meet him, and then J & J from up the road stopped in on their way home from a trip and were surprised to see that we had a new 'baby' in the house. Unlike Savannah, who was (and still is) cautious with people who don't live in her house, Satchmo quickly becomes friends with everyone he meets. As friend Cindy says--- everyone this puppy sees is immediately his new best friend.

We have had rain here for the past two days... much needed pouring-down rain from a sky that hasn't opened up with rains for two months. Everything is sopping wet outside, and walking in the grass with Savannah and Satchmo means boots are necessary on the way out, and four doggie-feet have to be dried off on the way back in. Satchmo's tiny feet don't need as big a towel as the one I use for Savannah.

I can see the difference in Savannah's personality since we adopted Satchmo... she's more confident, less fearful, and Satchmo has become not only a play-mate in the house but a walking buddy outside in the yard. It didn't take too long to learn to control two different leashes without having them end up in a tangled mess, and there are days when I'm walking around that yard and smiling because I never thought we would have two dogs at the same time.

My husband and I have surely had more than our share of pets over the years... mostly cats, some of which were gone quickly and others that lasted for more than 12 years.  We had our dog Gracie for nearly 15 years, and Savannah's Border Collie/Great Pyrenees mix should keep her as healthy as Gracie's Border Collie/Black Lab mix.  With Satchmo's mix of Cavalier Spaniel and Papillon, he should have at least a ten or twelve-year life with us also.

Our inside cat Sweet Pea has already accepted Satchmo, much quicker than he learned to trust Savannah when we brought her home last year. I think Sweet Pea was intimidated by Savannah's size when she was a puppy (a very large puppy when we first got her). Satchmo is about the same size and weight as Sweet Pea, so maybe he thinks the puppy is just a different sort of cat. Whatever the reason, Sweet Pea, Savannah, and Satchmo are all getting along nicely.  And we have suddenly turned into one of those families who children's names all begin with the same letter. (Except for Mickey, who's the odd one out at the moment.)