A little busier at our house...

Why, you ask?
Meet Penny Jasmine. She was born 3/12/09 and joined our household this past Saturday from the folks at the Indian Cotton Kennels. We've been keeping her under wraps as a surprise to our friends, but she's ready to make her debut. In case you can't tell from the photo, she's a longhaired black & tan dappled little girl. Right now she's 3.1 pounds of dachshund fury.

It's been a long time since we've had a puppy, and we've never had one this young. Our Oscar was 3 months old when we got him. Penny is a ball of energy, exploring everything (she's particularly obsessed with whatever she thinks is behind the recliner, which frankly is only a bunch of electrical cords she can't have, and we're amazed at how she's working out different ways to get around the barriers we've erected). Those little puppy teeth are sharp and her favorite targets are toes. She is a rather opinionated young lady and will readily let you know what's on her mind. Loudly.

We know that it's not fair to compare Oscar and Penny, since they're two completely different personalities, but we've been amazed at the differences so far. Oscar would never, ever get into a crate; so far Penny's been sleeping in hers and in her puppy playpen. Oscar was always a "nervous eater" and had to have someone with him while he dined; you'd best not get between Penny and her bowl.We've been for our first well-puppy visit and Dr. Weaver has pronounced Penny "perfect" and is really impressed with the breeder as Penny didn't have any of the puppy parasites that generally come with dogs from kennels. Penny has also been well socialized and didn't mind all of her "aunts" passing her around to "ooh" and "aah" over her at stitch group last night. She can already work the room with the best of them.

Penny's already gone hi-tech, as any modern puppy would. You can follow her on Twitter, and I have it on good authority that she's going to be setting up her own web-cam to follow her during the day when we're not home. You'll find details here when it's set up.

We never, ever intend for Penny to replace Oscar. As my dear friend Benne on Ravelry said, Oscar was tired and needed to rest, and now he knows that someone is there to take over his work. Richard and I are a pawfull, so Penny will have her work cut out for her. We hope she enjoys the journey as much as we're gonna enjoy having her with us.