A New Addition to the Family - Meet Ginger

The passing of Matilda left a terrible hole in our hearts.  It seemed like there was nothing to get up for in the morning, without Matilda to take for a walk. We had been debating if or when to get another dog, but we kept going around in circles, unable to make a decision.  If we did get a dog our preference was another Aussie and maybe one a few months to a year old. We did submit an application to a regional shepherd rescue organization, Save Our Herders Outreach (SOHO).  Most of the dogs at SOHO were at least a year old, often older than that.  When we talked to them they said the competition was very stiff, that there were typically up to 50 applications for any particular dog.  Our initial application was for "Willow" and we got a call from a SOHO staffer asking some followup questions.  We were told that we were 1 of the 2 top applicants being considered for Willow, and that the foster family would make the final decision on homing willow. Unfortunately Willow eventually went to another home.  We transferred our application to "Cooper" who also, ultimately, went to another home.  Most every dog listed on SOHO had either a requirement, or a strong preference for, a home with a fenced yard. The Whitleys have no fenced yard; heck about nine months out of the year we have no yard at all, per se, as we travel about the country.  This clearly worked against us.

Ginger likes to sit on the air conditioning duct

The disappointment we felt by not getting Willow or Cooper seemed to affirm that we might really be ready to actively find a new dog.  A puppy may be the easiest to adopt.  We talked to a few breeders and researched some other sources on the web.  Finally we found a guy on Craig's List that had 7 puppies in Mocksville. They were 9 weeks old and were ready for a home.  The pictures showed all were as cute as they could be, so we made the call and drove over there.  It turned out that 3 males and 3 females were still available: 2 tri-colored, 3 bi-colored and a single red merle. After playing with all the pups for about an hour, we picked out the only merle, which happened to be a female.  The red merle was the cutest and most distinctive, and according to the owner, who has taken them to his lake house a few times, the one least prone to jump in the water.  This is an important characteristic for a canoe dog, and one that Matilda shared.

On the drive home. Our first picture of Ginger

Greeting wildlife in the yard

So, we introduce Ginger, born June 3 and adopted August 7.  We are already using some nicknames, such as "Ginger Bread Baby" and "Ginger Cake".  If she is agile and likes to dance, she may also become known as "Ginger Rogers", as Matilda was sometimes called "Waltzing Matilda"

See Ginger arguing with her squeaky bone.

Ginger currently has two blue eyes, but it looks like one may be turning hazel.  We expect she might eventually have one blue and one brown eye.

After attempting to weigh Ginger using a few different methods, we determined she currently weighs 6.30 pounds.

How humiliating!

Based upon her parents weight we expect Ginger will weigh about 35 to 40 pounds at maturity. 

So here we are, 14 years after finding Matilda, we have a new puppy in the house, preparing to depart on a long motor home trip.  On Friday, we will leave for a 7-week trip, heading north towards Minnesota and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. When we put into the Boundary Waters Ginger will be just shy of 12 weeks old, and we will have had only about 2 1/2 weeks to work with her.   Talk about an adventure!

Stay tuned.