H is for...

Honey


Yeah, that's right! I have another dog! Did you not realize that? I know I talk about Cache a lot just because there is always something newly destructed in his world. I realize that I neglect talking about my other puppy, but that's only because she's such a good dog and rarely shakes things up.

We rescued Honey about a year ago. Jerod had been researching Akitas and we decided that we would start looking for one. We looked into breeders, but a puppy was really expensive and since we were saving for a wedding, we didn't really see that as feasible. Jerod discovered an Akita rescue shelter in Oregon and on their website was a sweet picture of a little girl they had available to rescue.


After several weeks of phone conversations, coordinating drop off times, etc, we picked up our Honey bear in Spokane around the middle of December. She was extremely aloof and standoffish. But, after some bonding time with Jerod in Nebraska and after a couple weeks of getting to know Cache, she was quickly part of our family.

It has been so much fun watching her personality emerge since her rescue. We've been told by several people that have rescued dogs that it takes awhile for their true personalities to show through. Honey was very skittish and ambivalent to us for a long time. She slowly started becoming more attached to us and more responsive. She still had weird moments (like her sheer terror of thunder, or her irrational fear of the color white, or her crazy obsession with digging at carpet), but for the most part, she is nothing but a joy to us. She is quirkier then you think she is and just when you least expect it, she'll do something completely hilarious. Like the way she waits until you turn your back and she swipes your foot with her paw. Or how she will come up to you, do the playful puppy bow and then take off tearing across the yard.

I'll admit that it took me awhile to warm up to Honey. She was always intended to be Jerod's dog, but since she lived with me until we got married, I was the one that took care of her. I never felt that I played favorites between the two dogs, but I couldn't deny that connection with Cache since I have had him since he was just a tiny pup and it was just us two for so long. But, Honey has a way of worming her way into your heart and planting roots. From her playful pawing at your feet, to her extreme head tilts when she listens to you, she just oozes adorability. Ask anyone who has spent a little bit of time with her and they will tell you the same thing. She casts a spell on you and soon you can't wait to bury your face in her soft neck and give her a big ole' hug. I just can't imagine our lives without her.

My mom took the picture at the top a couple weeks ago when the dogs and I were home visiting.