Good Morning!!

Wallace & the kitten getting closer!!

We made pretty big strides tonight in introducing Wallace and the (still unnamed) kitten.

Dick kept Wallace on one side of the sofa, while I walked in with the kitten and sat on a chair across the room. That went well, Wallace was excited to see her, but stayed with Dick, and Dick used treats to keep Wallace focused and calm. The kitty was watching Wallace and even purred a bit.

I moved, while holding the kitten to the other end of the sofa and sat there with her for a while. All was well, so I scooted in even closer to Dick and Wallace, and released the kitten so she could stay or go on her own.

She rested on my chest for a while, as Wallace got closer and closer. Wallace did remarkably well. He was very calm and gentle (even though it was obvious that he really wanted to see her. His tail was wagging. The kitten's head was facing away from Wallace, but he able to sniff her hind side.

The kitten eventually moved to my side, on the opposite side of Wallace and Dick. She was able to see Wallace better from this angle. She hissed and growled a tiny bit when he got closer to her, but she didn't leave my side.

At one point, Wallace was on the floor and came up close to her. She did hiss at him and arched her back a bit then, but then settled in next to me again.

We probably did all this for about half an hour or so, then we figured we should give the kitty a break and brought her back to her safe room upstairs.

We're very happy with how it went tonight. We got further, and it went better than we thought it would. Both animals did very well tonight!! Wallace was a rock star, and the kitten didn't really seem bothered at all.

We're very pleased and hopeful that they will continue to do well together. :)

Uncle Blane meets the new kitten

Rainy Day Twinsies

Hidden Mickey

My new kitten has a hidden Mickey on her. :)

Wallace and the kitten meet for the first time!!

We just had our first introduction of Wallace and the kitten! It went really well. A few hisses and a couple of barks, but mostly we just sat on opposite sides of the gate and stared at each other.

We all stayed like that for at least 15 minutes. The kitten stayed on Dick's lap, and I talked to Wallace and gave him treats (and did training with him).

All in all, a success! We'll do this a few more times and see how it continues to go.

More kitten pictures

Today we decided to open up another room for the kitten. We had been keeping her in our master bathroom for the first two days, but today we opened up my office for her, too (which is adjoined to the bathroom). She took to it really well and seems to enjoy having more space (and a tall kitty perch) to explore and run around in.

Still haven't finalized a name for our new little girl, but we're getting closer.

John is here!!

Yay! John is down for a visit from Seattle. It was an epic day of eating: La Taqueria, Mission Pie, Burger Meister, and Ice Cream Bar. I think we came close to breaking him. :)

Luckily, the rain stopped mid afternoon so we were able to bring him to Fort Funston. We also had a nice walk to and from dinner, so we got in a lot of steps to counter those calories today.

First morning visit

I woke up early and couldn't fall back to sleep. Thought I'd let Wallace sleep in, and visit this little kitten. I've been in the bathroom with her for an hour. She just fell asleep in my lap. ❤️

New Kitten!!

We adopted a little 3-1/2 month old kitten today!! It was not really planned. I wasn't sure if I was ready for a new kitty yet, but Dick has been missing having one in our home.

We went to the SPCA today just to look. We actually agreed before we went that we would not bring home a kitty today.

We were actually looking at older kitties at first- a year old or more. We spotted this little girl as she was being fed and the volunteer told us that she was putting the whole time that she was in there.

We went to meet her, and pretty much fell in love instantly. She is super sweet, and a putting machine. She was very comfortable with us immediately, which I'd say is not common for young kittens. We just knew that she's a special little girl.

We brought her home and got her set up in one of our bathrooms so she'll have a smaller space to adjust to for a day or so.

We plan to slowly acclimate her to us and our home. We'll take a slow approach to introducing her to Wallace. We started by bringing a couple of his toys to her bed so she'll get used to his scent. He is also starting to smell her scent on us.

I think/hope that they'll get along just fine free the initial surprise of it all. Wallace is really good with meeting and playing with small and young puppies at the dog park. He knows when and how to be gentle.

Her name to the SPCA was Fuchsia, but we're going to give her a new name, TBD.

I'll post more tomorrow!!

Happy 6-month Anniversary, Wallace!!

Today is Wallace's six-month anniversary with us! Yay!

I've read/have been told that it takes a rescue dog about six months to adjust to their new home/life and be able to show you their true personality. We have noticed changes in Wallace, both big and small, each week that we have had him. It's been such a wonderful experience to watch him transform from the shy, skinny little guy that we adopted in May to the strong, athletic and joyful dog that we adore so much.

When we first got Wallace, he weighed roughly 15 pounds. When we last weighed him within the last month, he's up around 19 pounds now, and very muscular. It took us about 1-1/2 weeks before we could get Wallace to walk out our front door - he was very nervous. Now, he loves going on walks, car rides, to the beach, the dog park, and visiting friends at their houses. He's certainly become quite the social little guy.

When we were in Portland in August, we were downtown taking Wallace for a walk one morning. A monk wearing robes saw us, and told me, "Your dog has a joyful soul." I contemplated that statement for a split-second, and then immediately agreed. Wallace is a joyful little dog who is always happy. He charms so many people that he meets with his happy disposition, and simply spreads joy.

Dick and I are so happy to have Wallace as part of our family. He brings us happiness and love every day. I'm pretty sure Wallace is just as happy to be with us, too.

Happy six-month Anniversary, Wallace! xoxo


Our first family photo when we adopted Wallace at the San Francisco SPCA on May 16, 2016


photo by Gina Rodrigues


photo by Gina Rodrigues


San Francisco dog


Family photo taken last week

Training Classes at the SF SPCA

We sign up for our second course of training classes at the San Francisco SPCA. Classes started tonight. They are one hour per week for five sessions total.

Wallace really enjoyed the classes last time and Dick and I learned a lot. This class (Just the Basics, Two) is designed to reinforce what we learned during the first class and expand upon it.

Tonight was mostly a refresher of what we had learned during the first class, but it was taught be a different instructor, and we learned new ways in which to teach/reinforce. I think it'll be a good experience for all of us again.

Wallace was happy to be back in a class environment and was an eager student. :)

Dirty Dog

Wallace had a ton of fun yesterday afternoon at the dog park, and this morning at Fort Funston. It seems that the more fun he has, the dirtier he becomes. We do our best to brush off and wipe off the dirt every day (he is supposed to be shite, after all!) but I think a bath is in order soon.

Just look how happy he is, though. :)

Instagram

Well, that was inevitable. After setting up his account just over three months ago, Wallace now has more followers on Instagram than I do. 😊

(granted, 68 isn't a whole lot of followers, his profile is public, and i don't post often on my personal account, but still.... never underestimate the power of a cute puppy!)

https://www.instagram.com/wallace_puppy_chow/

Super Moon over San Francisco

An afternoon with Blane

Wallace and I spent the afternoon with Blane. We went to Fort Funston together, then had hot chocolate at West Portal. Wallace is always happy to see his Uncle Blane! :)

Visiting Grandma in Stockton

My Sister and I went to Stockton Saturday to visit our Grandma. My Dad is with her this weekend, and we all had a nice visit together, including a yummy dim sum lunch!

Play date with Kayak and Mike!!

Wallace and I had a great morning with Kayak and Mike. We brought them to our local dog park, then we had a great dim sum lunch at Mama Ji's. The dogs both did really well sitting outside with us. By the end of our lunch, they were both pretty tired. :)

Pretty backyard at sunset

Dick and I finally got some yard work done today. We had so much rain in October that we needed to wait for it to dry out. It looks so much better now.

I took this photo during sunset, which is why it has a pretty pink tint to it.