There is only one thing better
than a Lundehund:
...two Lundehunds
After having made a definite decision about
finding a friend for Nyssa we were ready for a long wait. But I guess luck was
on our side again, because it only took a few months before everything became
reality. This time we did have to look beyond the boundaries of our country, but
internet and e-mail makes this relatively easy.
The most difficult thing in this, was that you are quite unable to pay the
kennel a visit to meet your future dog. I guess there’s a lot of trust involved
in cases like these.
Looking back I’m convinced it could hardly have gone any better.
Siv is a very energetic dog, full of happiness. Every day she wakes up looking
forwards to another day. Even though not much bigger than a guinea pig when she
arrived, she was bold and brave, not afraid of anything. The second day after
she had arrived she knew how to go outside by herself through the cat door. The
day after she knew how to escape from the garden through the fence that had
always kept Nyssa inside.
On the weblog I had used for my trip to New Zealand, I had written about Siv
before and just after she came to live with us. On this page you can read the
blogs from this online diary.
07 January 2004
YES!!!
Nyssa is going to have a 'sister'!
The breeder has given her the name Rødhette, which is Norwegian for Little Red Riding Hood. Rødhette has a white "face" and a small white stripe in her neck, just like a hood.
She was born on the 22nd of November, together with 3 Lundehund brothers. And in about 2 weeks from now, she will fly from Norway to Amsterdam to come and live with us!!!
21 January 2004
Rødhette is the cutest one, of course. (The one on the left, for those of you who think otherwise). As you can see she really does have a bit of a hood, which gave her this name.
Rødhette will arrive from Oslo by plane on Friday. It is so weird picking up a dog from the airport. I'm glad it's just a short flight, poor thing being ripped away from her family and put on this scary noisy thing all by herself.
I'll just have to give her some extra cuddles when she arrives in her new home.
24 January 2004
She has arrived!
No thanks to Schiphol Airport, though. It was amazing how we were sent from one building to another, collecting forms, stamps and other evidence and paying all kinds of unforseen costs just to be allowed to get to Rødhette. It seemed like some
kind of game; you have to fullfill all these assignments to score points, and with enough points you get a step closer to the prize. It took me two hours to get the first prize.
But once I got it, it was worth all the trouble!
I am still amazed how soon Rødhette felt comfortable again after having been inside a little box for so long. In the car she played with her bear, with our fingers, hair or clothes,
she ate and drank a little and she slept on our lap for a long time.
The meeting with Nyssa was very funny. At first Nyssa was happy to see us again, and then, all of a sudden she saw a little dog in Marcel's arms. This gave her a huge fright. Rødhette immediately started walking after Nyssa, who in turn walked away, not knowing what kind of creature this was supposed to be. But after a little sniffing they even started playing a little.
That night Rødhette slept inside a kennel next to our bed. It is big enough to fit in a
grown up Great Dane, so I don't think she even noticed she had been confined. I had put in a blanket and the little bear that she had taken with her, which must have made it so comfortable she went inside herself. After a little sniffing around and a bit of playing, she went asleep straight away. She slept all the way through the night (I never expected this!) and woke up late in the morning because I myself had gotten up. The kennel was actually still clean, another great surprise. And, as if it was a little gift to Rødhette to make her feel at home, it had snowed. She wasn't the only one
who enjoyed playing in the snow!
And I guess a day like this is very tiring, not just for baby dogs, also for big ones, like Nyssa...
31 January 2004
As there are not many of you voting for a new name for Rødhette or coming with suggestions, we've decided on a name ourselves. Like it or not, from now on she is going to be called: Siv.
In Norse mythology Siv was the wife of Thor. It seems to have several meanings: victorious defender, kinswoman and kinship. Oh well, whatever it means, Siv (pronounced as Seef) is a nice, short name not easily confused with Nyssa.
Siv has gotten used to her new home very quick. The last couple of nights she has slept all the way through the night again. In the beginning of the week this had been a bit of a problem. Because of the food change, Siv had developed some nasty diarrhea problems. This meant she had to be let outside almost twice every hour, all hours. And what a perfect timing it was, as I had become sick myself, I longed so much for every second of sleep I could get.
But the worst things are over for the both of us, so now we’re mainly enjoying each other’s company. At the moment she is sleeping on my lap, where she has been for hours now.
Nyssa is getting along very well with Siv. They play with each other a lot, sometimes in such silly ways, it is incredibly funny! Nyssa almost never lets Siv win in games and also when eating she has made it clear several times that she is still the boss. The only difficult thing in this, is that Siv just LOVES food. She will eat anything remotely edible that she can find. At one time she sneaked up to Nyssa’s bowl while she wasn’t looking, grabbed a piece of food and ran off with it very fast. But Siv didn’t have much luck, Nyssa had seen it. She ran after Siv and told her very clearly in her own way never to pull a stunt like that again. I felt so sorry for her... But I guess that’s just the way things go between dogs.
But on a whole, Nyssa and Siv get along with each other really well.
1 February 2004
