Kahu

Sooooo.....we got a puppy last week. :-) He's a 3-month old, all white, Siberian Husky. He has the coolest blue eyes you'll ever see, and he's a great pup. It took us over a week to name the boy, but we finally decided on "Kahu" which means guardian in Hawaiian. We hope that while he grows up with Aurora, he will learn that his job is to keep her safe.

Aurora and Kahu are already bonding wonderfully. The first night was a little crazy because he was so excited about being in new surroundings that he didn't quite understand that he was playing too rough with everyone. He spent his first night crying in his kennel in the garage, but we shortly found him a chainlink "runner" for the backyard. Our yard is fenced, yes, but Kahu is a kolohe boy and he likes to dig around the fence door. Luckily we have lots of big boulder rocks that we put in and around his holes, so he's quickly learned not to do that. We let him pretty much roam around the backyard as he pleases, and he has quickly learned that outside is where he's allowed to use the bathroom. We let him come into the house throughout the day to chill with us, and all he basically does after the initial dash-into-the-kitchen-and-back-into-the-living-room deal is lay down on the living room floor and nap for a couple of hours. He is one lazy pup, but he sure gets his exercise after we let him out of his pen in the morning.

Kahu is great when it comes to having a high tolerence for children. When our neighbors came by to meet us, Kahu escaped out the front door, but didn't dart down the driveway. Instead, he went up to the neighbor's kids, Cora and Ashley, and layed out on the grass to get a bellyrub. Ashley, the older child of the two, started to rough house with him, and to my astonishment, he loved it. I still didn't know this dog personally, and he's letting some strange kid pretty much use him as a horse. When Aurora is in the feisty and rebellious mood, she loves to go up to Kahu when he's sleeping and pull his hair. He'll open his eyes for just a second to see who it is, and then he goes right back to sleep, letting Aurora continue to harass him. Like I said, Kahu's a great pup, and I have no doubt in my mind that he will grow up to be a great dog as well.

Aurora is being taught how to be "nice" to Kahu, and loves to pat him on his belly. Anytime she sees him, she lets out loud and delighted squeals. Sometimes when he's being too jubilant, she starts talking to him in her baby jabber and it almost sounds like she's trying to scold him. They're a great team, and I certainly am glad we got Kahu. He's a great addition to our family.