Another one Bites the Beach

The highlight of any puppy's early days...that first sniff of marsh across East Beach Causeway, that first excited pacing in the sandy parking lot, that first glimpse of white sand and THE BIGGEST POOL I HAVE EVER SEEN (Browdie's words, not mine) that comprises the first trip to the beach.

We headed out with the little Hodges (and their young Golden, Max) to get the last of the light. Browdie took to it like a fish to - well.

He loved it.

He ran straight after Tilley then was caught up in the excitement of it all, including getting chatted up by one of those fellas on the skateboard/windsurfer apparrati (Browdie climbed right on the deck no problem).

Then it was time to hit the water, where Browdie tumbled right in to the surf line as Tilley and Max chased Ann Marie and Sam all over. Laika wandered around, happy as a clam and not minding wearing two leis as Tilley's had worked its way down to her waist like a tutu due to all the bodysurfing action.

Occasionally Browdie would get a little too much wave for his height (at his size, this didn't take much) and just shook it off like a pro.

Finally he decided he was a little waterlogged, salty, wet, and cool, and begged for Daddy to hold him until the last bit of pink light scooted out of the sky and we headed home for a rinse off in the pool.

A Fool for the Pool

So just in case no one gets how eagerly Browdie clambered onto the float his very first time in the pool on SSI, here's a little video evidence.

Yes, we think he's going to like the water juuuuust fiiiiine.



The following video sums up pretty well Laika's mood on the island, in this case taken while car surfing on the way back from a morning romp on the beach:

Mayfield's Volunteer Browdie

I arrived at Immer Essen Farm at last to retrieve our boy. Out he came from the house and I couldn't believe how much he had grown up in four weeks! He scamped around in the grass a little bit before noticing me then was like HEY LADY I REMEMBER YOU!! and came over and greeted me excitedly. We played a little in the front yard while I talked to Cesmir and Greg, showing them Laika and Tilley's books to let them know that he would be off to grand adventures with us.

Cesmir gave me a very organized packet of all his records, papers, and then, much like a 4-pack of toilet paper at Target, she scanned him and rang him up. He had already been microchipped so she had to scan in the number to confirm that everything matched up with the papers we'll submit.

But it was kind of funny to have him scanned, and it beeped, then I wrote a check :).

I grabbed the kennel we had left back in May and he was like, hey, where is my house going? After a few goodbye hugs - just like that - we were off. We went the other way out from the farm to head south and we inadvertently came out behind Mayfield again, so I had to stop for a partial family portrait.

We drove onward to Atlanta and he mostly stayed in my lap or behind my shoulder (weirdo).

I finally had to stop at a Wendy's to get some form of food and go to the restroom...I knew I couldn't leave him alone in the car so I improvised and put a blanket down in a large canvas beach bag, and in he went with me. It's amazing how few people suspect that you are carrying a live corgi as a purse. It was nice in the restroom because I just hung the bag on the purse hook and he just snoozed. Just like a hammock, he remarked later.

Once back in Atlanta, I had to swing by work to pick up a few things before heading to SSI, so we had a few meet and greets, many of whom felt like they knew him already as they'd seen all the pics of him over the past few weeks.

Finally, it was time to go home for the big Meeting of the Girls. I kept him in the bag and Tilley clearly wondered where I had been, why I smelled like puppies, and why in particular the bag I was carrying smelled A LOT like a puppy. To her surprise, it WAS a puppy! She was very interested but a little tentative, or moreso that we thought she would be. Laika literally didn't see him for the first few minutes then was - as expected - relatively unaffected :).

By the end of the evening, though, Tilley and Browdie were already doing a little "let me follow you around", and by the next morning they were already playing tug with some woobies. Tilley remarked that having a little brother might end up being fun after all.

Friday morning it was time to push off for the island on Browdie's first big road trip. We got the truck all ready and we were off like a pack of corgis. Browdie mostly napped, as did Tilley (shocker). Seems like in addition to Corginess they also have autonarcolepsy in common. Laika of course paced until approximately Statesboro and finally sat down around Savannah. Once we hit Darien though, she caught wind of the marsh and was giddy and smiley. Going across the causeway Browdie was clueless but Tilley and Laika were as beside themselves as I was :).

We arrived at the house where Mom and Dad were a day ahead of us and unwound by the pool. John of course jumped in with his clothes on within the first ten minutes. Tilley proved her new aqua bravado with jumping onto her float without anyone asking her to or without anyone in the water. Pool deck, float pounce, swim to the stairs, repeat. John was hanging on the float and Browdie decided to check it out. And then jumped right on the float like he'd done it a thousand times. We're glad he's fearless about the water but hope that doesn't mean he will be too sassy to train :).

That night before bed, Tilley discovered that Browdie - despite his diminuitive size - is a "most worthy" adversary in the wrestling ring. He gave her a run for her money, and they took turns being the tough guy or the "help you've got me down" dog. Laika didn't mind as she was in the middle of her standard 2-day drive hangover recovery power nap.

A few videos to entertain:

CORGIS! CORGIS! CORGIS!

As part of our Memorial Day pilgrimage to the cabin for some sun and family time with Mom, Dad, Warren, Susan, Sam, Ann Marie, and Max...not to mention a multitude of cousins on "the hill" as per the multi-generational tradition...John and I had a little side trip planned.

It was time to go meet Browdie, the new puppy. BROWD (sounds like the past tense of the word brow as in eyebrow) is the Welsh word for brother, fitting because he'll be a little brother to Tilley and Laika and also shares a bday with my brother :).

We headed over across the dam past the massive and historically controversial Watts Bar nuclear reactor towards Athens and Sweetwater. Home to Mayfield Dairy, the Lost Sea, and our newest-to-be member of the family.

We crossed over I-75 and ducked in and around turns on country roads that felt (to me) like home; it was nice to see an area that looked like it hadn't changed much in the past years.

Honeysuckle was so thick on the vine you could smell it in the air driving along as we passed little farms, a multitude of cows, and yes, even an alpaca farm (Jess, I did not stop to herd them).

We turned up the gravel lane and headed up the hill to the house and were greeted by the fine folks at Immer Essen farm. I knew already that I liked these people from our chats on the phone and email, but really liked them once we met them. I can sum it up by saying this... anyone who raises corgis overlooking the Smoky Mountains, is a self-proclaimed militant vegetarian, and is a Buddhist who can comfortably quote Monty Python and the Princess Bride is alright with us.

We headed over to the little pen with an open travel crate full of little puppies pretty much sacked out on top of one another happily. One brave soul came over, the others in the corner of the pen or the crate itself couldn't be bothered. After a while our hostess headed over and un-sandwiched our boy from the pile and brought him over. As expected, even cuter in person :). He was pretty friendly with us but still pretty young and distracted. He took a little interest in the small toy I'd brought along, but was quickly on to the next thing such as my purse, shoe, or the cuff of my jeans leg. He was fine being held but didn't seem to want to get up near my face just yet.

Then we headed over to the outdoor day runs to meet Llewy, the dad. He was such a bundle of HURRAH - so friendly and energetic. He enjoyed the Zuke's mini treats I had along :). We then went along to meet some of the other corgis just for fun, including the highlight of the pen with the 8 and 12 week litters, where I was happily assaulted by many paws and puppy tongues. Just corgis. Everywhere. John and I later shared that we both seperately wished we had asked to go in and just lay there and let them have their way with us. Corgis!!

Next, we headed over to meet Faith, the mom. They are at 4 weeks so are starting to spend part of the day away from mom. She was such a sweetie....very friendly and happy. A good size too, much like Tilley in terms of confirmation. She enjoyed the backrub from me, lamenting "these puppies are killin me".

Then it was back to the puppy pen for us for more time with Browdie. I did a little putting him on his back on my lap and he was just fine, playing with my hand and my LiveSTRONG bracelet. He also nuzzled up to my neck and then proceeded to give a few glorious puppy flavored kisses to my nose.

Eventually it was time to leave his travel crate behind and say goodbye until 4 weeks from now when we whisk him away to start his new life. The good news is at least he didn't issue a verbal moan of discontent when he saw us like Tilley did the first time when we picked her up at the airport. She's since retracted her initial disappointment and regrets her initial comment. A few videos to get your cute fix on for the day: