Christmas Present

Santa's Little Helper

Just might be the cutest dog ever.....

Growing up

She is still a pup but getting more and more like a dog every day. She is now as tall as Murf - althought that's not easy to see when they are both sleeping.

She also likes to chase the snow shovel. If we could just figure out how to get her to shovel snow.

No She's Not Spoiled

Conference Calls

Kamela is expanding her horizons. This picture is how Kamela handles conference calls. She does not seem to interested in public outreach for the Materials Research Society. I think our project with NOVA is pretty exciting but obviously Kamela has a different opinion.

Yesterday she made her first trip to the grocery store. She was pretty well behaved. Although I really need to focus on making sure she doesn't just eat stuff off the floor and say hi to everyone in the store when she goes to Albertson's. It's ok if I'm just picking up a couple things for lunch but she is definitely not ready to go on major grocery shopping trips.

One Smart Dog

She must be smart, she goes to college every day.

Tired Pups

If you take the dogs for a long walk, and then have them help you clean up the yard for most of the afternoon. They do eventually get tired. Kamela seems to have adapted well to being back with her Uncle Murf.

Entropy

It's not easy to get a good picture of a 15 year old deaf dog (Murf), a 3 month old puppy (Kamela), a one year old human (Emma), and a 2.5 year old human (Sully). Actually, I think this is pretty much the definition of Entropy.

She's Growing Up

I can't believe how big Kamela is getting. I've been gone - in Chicago-land - for the last week. As many of you know, my mother died unexpectedly from a very aggressive cancer. So Chad and Patricia have now had Kamela as much as I have had her since she moved to Boise. Look how big she is in this picture.

I'll be back early next week and will need to get back in the swing of things - including taking care of my puppy!

The First was Marita

In the last post the top picture was Marita and the bottom was Kamela. I've been home for three days and am heading back to Chicago. My mother is very ill. Kamela is heading back to Patricia and Chad's house.

Kamela went to the vet today for her 3 month booster shots. She is 21 pounds.

Like Mother Like Daughter

Which one is which? I am back in Boise - trying to get caught up and ready for class. I missed my little pupster. Not sure if Murf is ready for the crazy one to come back.

Get out of Jail Free

This is how Kamela gets to work in the back of the car. She likes to sing to me on the way to work but then when I open the crate she just stares at me. She wasn't whining to get out, she was just talking to me. I've been one for more than a week now. I'm really looking forward to seeing the little pupster again on Monday.

Top of the Hill

It sure seems like Kamela has grown a lot while I've been gone.

Bath Time

Kamela got a little dirty playing over the weekend with Neo and Georgie - resulting in bath time. Patricia said she was very good for her bath but I'm not sure from the picture how much Kamela enjoyed her bath.

I Miss the Pupster

I sure miss my little pupster. However it is clear she is well taken care of and having a terrific time!

New Roommates

Kamela is enjoying her new roommates. While I am in Batavia visiting my parents, Kamela is staying with Neo and Georgie. Patricia took these shots. I love the way you tell Kamela is pouncing on Georgie by the way her ears are flopping in the lower picture. They kept the playing up all evening and Kamela then slept through the night and I think most of the day.

Pooh Bear

Kamela enjoys snuggling and if none of the dogs in the house will snuggle with her then she just opts for her Pooh Bear. This is out on the front porch of our house. I believe Pooh came from the annual garage sale at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Batavia, IL. My mom and dad know to pick up stuffed animals for the dogs when they get a chance.

Kamela will be off to stay with Chad and Patricia and Georgie and Neo for a week. I'm off to Illinois to visit with my parents.

I do not pose these shots

Kamela really likes to sleep curled up on somebody else. This morning she chose Murf. Well Murf is often her first choice. Here she is just sort of leaning on him.

Diane accuses me of posing these shots. They are not posed. I just take lots and lots of photos and usually one turns out.

Being a Puppy is Hard Work

I'm not really sure how puppies do this but just like her mother, Kamela likes to spread out when she sleeps. She is under my desk sleeping and the flash on the camera definitely did not disturb her. I wish I could figure out a way to get her to grade papers.

New Tricks

Kamela's latest trick is to pounce on her food bowl - with both front legs and spill her kibble all over the floor. As you can see, Murf likes the new trick.

Tormenting Murf

One of Kamela's favorite activities is tormenting Murfee. Murf is pretty tolerant. He is 15 years old and just can't quite keep up with a puppy any more. I try to make sure I don't let Kamela torment him too much. Sometimes Murf is feeling a little frisky (after a full day's nap) and will play with her a bit. Sometimes he just ignores her and hopes she will go away.

Committee Work

Kamela has decided she needs to contribute to the overall mission of the College of Engineering at Boise State. Here she is reviewing our assessment documentation for ABET accreditation. Hopefully she will do all of my committee work for me this year.

All Good Things come in Small Packages

We tried some puppy/baby bonding today. Kamela was pretty sure Lucy was just a big chew toy. Lucy was not so sure about this or about sharing her toys.

College is Exhausting

Kamela has discovered that college is exhausting. She's only been in school for two days, and she already needs a nap. She even eats laying down. Well, lunch she eats laying down. Her active times seem to be early (REALLY EARLY) morning and late afternoon/early evening. Not a bad schedule as it allows me to get an appropriate amount of work done.

She doesn't mind sleeping in her crate, and is getting the hang of being house broken - although the large engineering buildings are still confusing. She seems to understand my office is "inside" but hasn't quite figured out that the whole building is inside. So we've had a couple of puddles to clean up when she was out visiting.

Working on a Routine

We're working on settling into a daily routine. Seems like a walk and a lot of play in the morning while we're getting ready for work results in a tired puppy when we arrive at BSU.

A tired puppy is a good thing!

She's Here.

Kamela arrived at the Alaska Air Cargo office about 2 pm today. She spent her afternoon tormenting Murfee and chasing Sully. She is now in her crate and quiet (I think she's sleeping but I haven't checked). As you can see, it's hard to take a picture of a moving puppy. She's not quite good at posing for the camera yet. She already seems a lot more active than Marita was when we first got her. But she is pretty independent and didn't mind wandering around the backyard on her own.

Fired Up! Ready to Go!

Murf's ready and waiting for the new arrival!

Kamela's new roommates

Thelma has been "escaping" into the front yard almost every day as she seems to prefer to lay her egg in the herb garden. Then she wanders around the front yards until I encourage her to return to the chicken yard. Her activities have definitely reduced the number of earwigs in the front yard. Unfortunately, she also likes to kick out all the mulch from around the roses and the bushes and eat the tomatoes (and probably the raspberries too).

I tried to get Thelma and Murfee to pose together in a picture. Although Murf was perfectly fine with the idea, Thelma didn't seem too comfortable hangin' out next to Murf while her picture was taken. We are all interested to see just how Kamela will feel about the chickens.

Getting Ready

I got the big kennel out and set it up in the living room today in prepartation for Kamela's arrival on Wednesday. It has a separator wall so I can keep the area she's allowed in small while she is small. I also need to take one of the other kennels into work.

I found the box of Marita's puppy gear with these incredibly tiny collars. I can't believe Marita was ever that small - or that Kamela will be that small. I will probably take a couple of them to the airport on Wednesday to make sure we have one that fits. Next I'm off to D&B Supply to buy puppy food and chicken supplies. I might need to buy some new toys and some puppy treats too.
I just got the picture from Doreen, Marita's Breeder-Caretaker.
It seems that Kamela is a water dog. She's the pup with her head in the water dish.

Official Arrival Announced

I just received notification from CCI headquarters that Kamela will arrive in Boise at 1:35 pm on Wednesday September 9. She flies through Seattle on Alaska airlines. I have a feeling I won't get a lot done that afternoon. Looks like I better get ready this weekend - get the crates set up and get her some food and some toys.

Marita lives with Doreen and Nick in Sacramento. In "CCI speak", Doreen is Marita's "breeder-caretaker". Doreen says the Kamela is quite rambuctious and likes to climb up on the small step stool and jump on top of one of her siblings. We're going to have to make sure that we protect poor Murfster from too much puppy antics. Here's a shot of Kamela trying to escape the puppy pen.

Marita and Babies

Well, I'm working my way backwards in time a bit but I thought I would add a picture of Marita and the litter of "k" pups when they were first born. Seven puppies in this litter. This is Marita's second litter. Her first litter was born about year ago (July/August) 2008. A couple of those puppies are about to enter advanced training.

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Impending Arrival

We just found out on Monday that we will be raising one of Marita's puppies for Canine Companions for Independence. Marita was the first pup we raised and we turned her in in August 2007. She was chosen to be a breeder and had her second litter in July 2009 - a "k" litter. All of the puppies names start with k. I requested to raise one of her pups and on Monday found out that Kamela will be placed with us.

Kamela has been described as quite rambuctious so she could keep us busy. Kamela should travel to Boise on September 9.

In this pic, Kamela is 6 weeks old.