A new addition

For some time now we have been considering getting another dog. Mostly because Kaiko (our dog of many years) has always known life as a member of a pack. That is until Jasper (our old dog) passed away right before Jax was born. Then we had a new baby and the thought of another dog went away completely.

Recently though we have started thinking again about getting another dog. Partly for Kaiko to have a friend and help him be a little less lonely and partly to have a dog that really likes kids and wants to play with them (Kaiko tolerates the kids but is not amused by them). We had a lot of ideas of what we wanted. We did not want a puppy. We wanted a dog that was well-adjusted and loves kids. We wanted a dog that was okay with cats. We wanted a dog that could be let off leash outside without running off. Mostly, we wanted a dog without a lot of baggage or issues. We have spent years getting Kaiko to a semi-normal state after all the abuse he suffered early on ... we don't have that kind of energy or time any longer.

Introducing Raven ... Our new two year old black lab. She adores the kids. She tolerates the cat. She loves to harass Kaiko and Kaiko loves to harass her in return. She slept on Jaida's bed for part of the night last night which had the pleasant side-effect of keeping Jaida in her bed last night. Her favorite game is fetch - OFF LEASH - which is fun and very entertaining for the kids. She is also an amazingly quiet dog - no whining, barking, whimpering, etc. She is a big ol' lap dog which is a bit much considering she weighs in at about 70 pounds. It almost seems as if she is tailor-made for us. She is everything we were hoping for in a dog.
Jaida simply adores Raven and I am pretty sure the feeling is mutual. Their favorite game is when Jaida runs around the loop calling Raven. Raven happily trots after her pretending like she can't possibly catch Jaida. Jaida giggles the entire time.