In case you haven’t heard, we’ve adopted another rescued dog as a companion for Freya and I’ve got a few pictures to share with those of you who haven’t met him in person yet. His name is Robbie and he’s approximately 7 months old and still a puppy although he’s now up to 60+ lbs. The dog shelter listed him as a German Shepherd mix but we’ve been told by people at the dog training center we’ve been taking him to that he’s most likely a Chinook. This is a rare, American breed that was developed for use as a sled dog and Robbie fits the breed standard to a tee.

Before learning that, we were pointing out traits of German Shepherds, Belgian Shepherds, Mastiffs and Huskies and wondering just what kind of mutt he was but it turns out that the breed contains DNA from all 4 of those breeds. There are very few breeders in the country but there are two right here in the Puget Sound area.

More importantly, he’s utterly adorable, very smart, extremely playful and he loves everyone unconditionally. He’s been to the doggie swimming pool and we found out he can indeed swim but it was clearly his first outing and he was a bit uncertain about it all. His big sister, who swims like an otter, was more than happy to show him the ropes. He goes to doggie day care twice a week when Inga is working downtown and he’s known there as “the life of the party”.

With one dog in our life, it was pretty easy to incorporate Freya without too many adjustments. But with two dogs, it’s total immersion and we suddenly find ourselves in the role of parent to our two canine children; doggie day care, lessons once a week, shopping for accessories and toys, trips to the vet, dietary issues, resolving pecking order disputes in the pack, play time, and constant training. Whew! We’re both a bit overwhelmed by it all but he’s as wonderful as Freya and we feel blessed to have such a creature in our life.

Meanwhile, I’ve posted another motorcycle trip to my website. I went riding with my brothers, Eric and Paul, and a friend of Paul’s from work in mid-May. We met up in Flagstaff and from there, we visited the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park, the Bryce Canyon area, Capitol Reef National Park and Monument Valley. As usual, it contains lots of photos of amazing places and the people I rode with along with my narrative to weave it all together. Click below to start reading:

3 Brothers & A Buddy – ODMC Spring 2007