August 19, 2022 (Friday)
We have a new addition to the family! (If I can ever figure out how to get photos in here, I promise you will see some fun ones!) Nova is a nine year old, 125 lb malamute. She's beautiful!
So when we first looked at this place, Nova was front and center on the porch. I jokingly asked if the dog went with the house? Oh no, Orville & Jackie assured me. They'd had her for seven years and she was definitely going to Arkansas with them when they move later this fall. A week or so later, they came by our old house in Talkeetna and asked if I'd been serious about wanting Nova? Seems they'd been thinking about it, about what might be best for HER. This is the only home she's ever really known. And in Arkansas, she wouldn't have anywhere to run, it's HOT, not to mention all the bugs, ticks, etc. I know all this first-hand because my family is from Arkansas. Did I mention it's HOT???
Anyhow, I told them we would think about it. We just lost our eight year old Bernese Mountain dog, Hank, last year and we still cry for him. But in the end, I told them we would take her but only after we'd moved in and got a little settled. So here's how my day went yesterday....
Orville calls me mid-morning. I know we talked about getting Nova to you Friday or Sunday, but how about TODAY?? Ok, I wasn't really doing much, so why not? They have an appointment in the area and will put her on the 1:00p train. He calls me again about 12:15 and says that there's a bad wreck on the highway and it's totally shut down. Don't think they'll make the train. Ok, no worries. He calls me back a few minutes later and said they'd gotten through and were hauling it to make the train! So I take the four-wheeler down to the tracks because he said she's coming with some "baggage". So not only can dogs travel on the train but they can bring baggage? I had to see this....
The train was about 45 minutes late but it finally came. A nice gentleman had held onto Nova's leash the entire 15 minute ride. She was a little confused but a real trooper! She climbed down off the train and you could tell she was happy to be home. The conductor started throwing her baggage down to me which consisted of a dog bed, 1/2 a bag of dog food, some bag with miscellaneous stuff in it and a box of her toys. How fun is that??
So she had already met Sam and Charli at the old house. I'd taken her with me out on the train when I had brought some totes up one day. She was pretty well received although I haven't seen Charli for a day now. She's ok, she always sulks a little when we bring someone new into the fold.
Today I drove the four-wheeler into town with our closest neighbor, Bernie. He's a very nice man and was kind enough to go in when I told him I had some errands to run. We left around 8:15a and got home around 3:00pm. I was a little nervous about the animals. Was really hoping I didn't come home to a bloodbath...that Nova might treat Sam or Charli like a squirrel, then chase them and make a Scooby snack out of them. Other than two piles of poo on the floor, all was well in the household. Thank you, Lord!