A Handsome Stranger

Charlie (fka Charleigh O'Doyle) is settling into his new home remarkably well, better than we dared hope.

He and we survived the stress of flying home (despite encountering the wicked witch of flight attendants...) and a friend met us at a local dog friendly park near our house so we could introduce Charlie to Lili, our 8 year old grey brindle Cairn princess, on neutral ground. Charlie was a little underwhelmed and more interested in the sights and sounds of the park. But Lili was obviously pleased to introduce her new rescue brother to the locals! She tried to initiate play once we got home, but Charlie seemed disinterested. We (and she) now realize he was just tuckered after a long and eventful day.

After a good first nights sleep and a couple of gourmet meals, by the next morning Charlie was the play initiator. In fact, we have since discovered he is always up for play, including with his fur cousin CJ, a gentle giant who came to spend the weekend recently. Charlie and Miss Lili are still working out their signals and relationship, slowly at first but clearly now. We think formerly being an only child Charlie didn't really know much about Cairn play rules until he met his foster sibs - who may not have taught him the specific rules of engagement where a resident princess is concerned.

Lili received her own CP blankie (a beautiful giraffee that now makes her favorite nap spot snugglier than ever...) and one of the more comical things we witnessed in the first few days was when she entered the kitchen one evening and decided she wanted to snooze on the big bed (where what's-his-name was spending his first days when gated). She took hold of his blankie and dragged it to the middle of the room before settling in on the big dog bed!!

Night time was an initial concern although Lili seldom spends the entire night on the people bed. Both visited and while Charlie seemed content to remain, the princess preferred staking claim to "his" hastily erected, newly bedded, lone crate. Well, it is new, it is lone...and she is a princess. But all in all, apart from mealtime, sharing doesn't seem to be an issue. Lili is an eats to live (yet food possessive) and Charlie is another lives to eat. But Lili's Elvis impersonation lip is now sufficient to keep Charlie at bay until she decides whether to leave him anything. He has some new snuggle beds that she isn't particularly interested in. She has her favorite nap spots and he's selected nearby alternatives. She plays with toys in spurts, but doesn't care for them nearly as much as Charlie does so they are not an issue.

After a week of gate separation when we were out, to avoid any inadvertent dust ups, they are now just hanging out together awaiting our return. Charlie is becoming more comfortable and more Cairn by the day. He is now patrolling the perimeter as opposed to just taking care of business while out in the yard. He loves his neighborhood walks and they took to their walks together immediately. His fur-sib was a tad perturbed at first at his attempts to be the lead dog but that issue melted PDQ. Because he loves toys they have taken to playing an occasional tug of war game, something that was a first for Lili.

Lili at eight is still very active but her activity isn't necessarily a sign she wants to play rough and tumble which, come to think of it, she and Georgie never really did probably because of his impending medical problems. She is prey driven to the point of obsession - indoors and out, and prey can include anything she sees or senses from the mailman to two or four legged passers by to squirrlies in the trees to (heaven forbid) a dog or other animal (real or animated) on TV. Which she watches (so we avoid Animal Planet and any shows or movies featuring potential prey because the big screen HDTV was expensive...). Charlie is interested in and aware of prey outdoors, but not terribly prey driven. She has issues with thunder, although unlike most thunder aversive dogs she appears to want to chase that too...Charlie likes to cuddle closer when it thunders but doesn't seem overly upset by it. A friend reminded us as we were selectively searching for our new boy dog that if we had to do an assessment write up on our existing princess it might be a while before some hearty soul took a flyer on her...and that's since she's matured! Charlie is learning that her running isn't necessarily an invitation to play, although he's welcome to either join her or just don't impede her. He is far more interested in toys, and prone to dismembering the overly furry ones, and more eager to play rough with other dogs or seek attention from his humans. But each is coming to terms with the others preferences, and growing more comfortable by the day, and the fact that they obviously perceive each other as pretty darn cute and interesting company doesn't hurt.

Just this last week Summer finally arrived in New England, so Charlie received his first exposure to our insane Cairn version of the little mermaid. He watched in suitable awe as she single-mindedly battled the underwater hose monster for several minutes as the pool filled, and then attempted to reposition a half full wading pool with her teeth! He snuck in a few sips here and there and finally dipped his toes in after she was finished. Just so she knows she's not the only one bringing new and exciting pastimes to the relationship, Charlie has introduced her to the adventures of eating raw chicken feet... And so he'd no she wasn't naive about the goodness of raw foods, she introduced him to marrow bones...

Charlie loves peoples, of any size or shape, and while at first a little pushy over attention, that too is melting in favor of two dog greetings. And the former one trick pony (the rolling over routine is endearing, though...) is learning that sit gets you treats quicker with less effort!! He and his gf now often flake out puppy spread eagle style just a few inches apart on the kitchen floor if one or both of us is working there. And we've caught each of them sneaking the other a quick kiss every now and again when they think we're not looking... They are both, after all, kinda cute.

We all undertook the process with heavy hearts and a healthy dose of trepidation. Our recently departed Georgie was a darling boy, our first male dog as well as our first Cairn, and the one who then helped raise our Lili from a pup. We still miss him, but Charlie isn't him...and that is the best part. He has a very different look, although both were black brindles, and he has a very different yet equally endearing personality - intent on pleasing all his princesses!!

Thank you Col. Potter for being there and for doing all you, for introducing us to a "dark (and may we add handsome) stranger", and mending broken hearts (including some human ones) one Cairn at a time.