Penny: Our First Day

At 5:00 on Monday, May 14 Penny the Keeshond puppy joined our family. Penny was born on March 16 in Tennessee. We drove to the airport and picked her up at the American Airlines baggage office.

Yes, I took a picture of the sign. Don't judge.

While I was patiently anxiously waiting for Penny to arrive I stopped by the odd size luggage pick up area. While I was there I saw this nice man unloading parcels. AND I SAW PENNY'S CRATE IN THE BACKGROUND!

There's a man who is super happy to be at work... not.

Penny was carried in by the baggage thrower through a door next to the odd size luggage area. I was so excited to finally see her and she was excited to see us too.

I love when you can see her tiny puppy tongue.

While Doug signed for her I got lots of puppy kisses through the bars of the crate. She was so happy to see people! I think she traveled really well. She didn't throw up and she only had a tinkle in the back corner of her crate and no puppy poops. I was expecting her to be a little messy when she arrived so it was a pleasant surprise that she wasn't.

Doug set her down to dry off his fingers from all her kisses.

On the way to the car Penny couldn't have been happier. She kept licking Doug's fingers. She looks really small in her crate but this is the size she'll need when she's grown up. I think it was nicer for her to travel in a bigger one. When we got the car we gave her some cool water which she happily drank. Then I wanted to take a picture of her and ended up making this movie instead:

Since Penny had been in her crate for most of the day, we brought a box and a blanket for her to ride home in. I held it on my lap in the backseat while Doug drove.

Riding home.

She had such a long day that she ended up falling asleep. She was so cute on my lap. I couldn't stop smiling.

A sleepy puppy

When she woke up she started whining a little and looking out the window. Doug pulled over by a nice patch of lawn at the Orem community hospital and we took her out. We were happily surprised when she went to the bathroom! She's already smart enough not to go where she sleeps.

A happy girl with her happy puppy.

We stopped by Petco on the way home to get her a name tag. It has her name and my phone number on a little heart shaped steel tag.

Relaxing on the lawn

We gave Penny some good exercise around our front yard when we finally got home. She liked watching the cars and finding seedpods in the grass. She would nose around until she found something fun to try to eat. I pulled more foreign plant material out of her mouth than I thought was possible.

 After a long and happy day Penny played with her squeaky bone. And I made Doug film a movie of it:

We had a long first night. Penny didn't like sleeping in her crate and whined a lot. Once she was asleep she was okay. She slept in about 4 hour shifts. She has been a lot better about being in her crate today. I think she realizes that we won't leave her alone for too long and that she's safe there.

What do you think of our sweet girl? Do you have any suggestions for training? Any ideas on how to help our cat Biscuit adjust well?