Thanksgiving and beyond!

Remus met the puppy cousins for thanksgiving at Grandpa's farm. At first, Remus didn't seem to know what to do with all the people and the two excited Bosten Terrier puppies that were eager to make friends. After sniffing everyone curiously and then generously licking Nick's dress pants, the group broke up to throw a football back and forth between Zech, Aaron and Matthew and watch Pigsby and Buster chase after it like dogs three times their size. While Remus had no interest in the football, he cautiously began chasing the Bosten Terriers, his actions somewhere between excitement and confusion. Small dogs confuse him. Even at PetsMart and the dog park. I don't think he knows what they are, and this was the first time he spent any prolonged interaction with them. Every time Pigsby or Buster would turn around to confront him, Remus would tuck his tail and back off, not quite sure what to do.

After a fabulous meal (the "children" had now entirely taken over the "adult" table, forcing the adults to sit in the living room, oh yeah) we all trooped down to the creek to carve initials into a tree before pie.

Remus threw caution to the wind and entered full puppy mode. If not entirely convinced that Pigsby and Buster were indeed dogs, he at least determined that they were safe to play with. Unfortunately for Pigsby and Buster, Remus was roughly 4 times their size, his paws the size of their heads. Pigsby bore it the longest, bravely standing his ground and occasionally chasing this giant ghlumphing playmate, but I think after multiple buffets to the head by a wolfhound paw, even Pigsby was getting tired and rethinking the earlier part of the day when roles had been reversed and Remus had been running FROM them. Remus also managed to knock into Matthew's knees at full speed, almost sending him tumbling backwards (75lbs of puppy running into your legs is no joke).

Remus and Buster

The other dog, a springer spaniel named Jackson, was high strung like most spaniels, barking almost the entire time and decidedly territorial. Remus was not allowed on the porch if no one else was there except Jackson, and during his puppy playing Remus gleefully turned to Jackson to join in the romp only to get snapped at. I wasn't overly concerned, Remus needs to learn doggy body language and Jackson was merely standing his ground against this oversized upstart. However, that did mean while the other puppies remained on the porch (the Boston Terriers were small enough to be placed in the screened in section seperate from Jackson) Remus slept behind the Prius on the ground damp from the earlier rain. He was very glad when we finally left so he could get into his nice fluffy bed and snooze the entire way home.

The next day included an intro to Finnegan who was staying at my parents house for the duration of the Thanksgiving holidays. Although Finnegan enjoyed twining his orange tabby body infront of the glass door, meowing and pawing amicably at Remus who was outside staring in, once leashes were applid to both pets and Finnegan taken outside for puppy-cat introductions, both showed reserve. In other words, Remus whined nervously and tried to hide behind my legs, and Finnegan fluffed up like a scared puffer fish and hissed. We decided not to push it. Later Remus started barking at the cat through the door, and Finnegan responded by swatting the glass. Can't we all just get along?

Back at the Keefer house, after a weekend playing with Remus Jimmy admitted he'd like to have a big dog. Rachel, Jimmy's wife, was ecstatic because her favorite breed is the St Bernard. Remus is winning hearts everywhere, awwww. Moving on. Remus no longer fit in Harley's kennel, so bedtime was  make shift affair in the hall bathroom. Also, Brian, Mr. Keefer and I made an eventful trip to Lowes and returned with a toilet strapped on to the top of the Mazda van.

When we finally returned to Lillington, we added carpet to Remus's side of the kitchen in hopes of keeping him from damaging his foreleg bones from lack of traction. Remus was very excited, and spent the rest of the evening either "digging" at the new flooring or sprawled out across it.

Now, I'm home alone with the puppy for a week while Brian's in the field. Unfortunately I work nights so Remus will be sleeping outside :( Also hopefully making a trip to Charlotte to finish some of the baby room mural later on this week. Bringing "No Chew" spray so Remus stops eating the Vincent House.