Meet Lark!

We have been watching the HVHS web page for some time. It is pretty obvious that Keiki needs a playmate. I posted on FB about how close we got with Gunther (10 month GSD male). But he was not a good match, especially for poor old Luna. He was a handsome and horny young man. Yes, ten months is technically a pup, but there is a big diff between 2 month old baby and 10 month old teenager. SHEESH. My bad. It has been a hot minute since we had a REAL baby type pup. We realized what we need is YOUNG female.  So, we watched and waited. Patience would reward us. The LoveTrain (tm) came up from TN on Weds the 22nd and we popped in to see if any of the six or seven little females listed on that Friday would be nice to meet. Keiki met "Gumdrop". Little pupper did not roll over and wet herself in fear. Little Pupper did not act like an aggressive asshole. Keiki was very tail waggy and kindly curious. I suspect she thought Lark was a cat. Lark is the same size as Izzy's cat Peppercorn who is a welcome guest. We asked to bring Little Pupper home. I was sore tempted to bring her two litter mates with her but that seemed a bit crazy.

Now we have three dogs. My darling BFF, Luna who is a 12 year old GSD. Luna has bad hips and is selectively deaf. Vet says her numbers are those of a younger dog but she really can't keep up with Keiki. Keiki is our two year old Lab/Pibble mix. She is a doll. Smart, and very sweet and VERY ENERGETIC. Even on the days she and Pete run 3-5 miles in the morning she often wants to go to the dog park in the afternoon and/or have a good game of whip it/fetch. Surprisingly, (insert sarcasm here) Keiki doesn't want to sit and write for hours. If she and Pete do NOT run in the a.m. there needs to be multiple long walks during the day. Good thing I am not teaching anymore. :P She needed a pal. We matched with "Gumdrop".  "Gumdrop" came home. Her litter mates were named Fudge and Toffee. The themes the shelter volunteers get going when they process in all these critters is amusing but really? I am not gonna get caught calling a dog "Gumdrop". This month's Love Train theme was all candy. We looked at Reese's and MilkyWay too... but remember this same group of humans named Keiki "Crostini"? Whatever! LOL. Need a REAL name.

After a hilarious hours long group chat brain storming monikers with the entire family, I settled on Lark. Which may or may not be based on Dylan Larkin.  Lark is the nickname for this 23 year old gentleman. He is smart. He plays fiercely but isn't a goon. He is an excellent role model. Even if he is a boy and our Lark is a girl, the bird lark is a funny color and so is our puppy. She isn't quite inky shadow black like Keiki, nor is she legit chocolate (ie dark warm brown). Her coat is kind of a cast iron. Not silver steel gray, but shimmery opal smoky gray. Weird.  I mean Keiki is like a black hole. She absorbs light. Lark's coat is a powdered velvety storm cloud gray.

Doesn't matter because in less than 48 hours Keiki has assumed the doting big sister role for her lil MiniMe. Keiki a.) LISTENS when Lark barks a NO THANKYOU I AM NAPPING fierce little babyYoda bark. (lol) and b.) shared some big girl kibble! c.) comes to wake Lark up if she and Luna are going outside. d.) occasionally and very gently checks the incision site on Lark's tummy (spay surgery) e.) snuggles all together in a puppy pile.
Luna could care less. Just a couple sharp barks of "NO. I am NOT sharing MY kibble!" and general aloof disregard. I am pleased.