It’s only a small secret I’ve been looking for my next dog for a little while. Payton is nearly five, and although there are six years between Payton and Auggie, I wanted fewer years between my next two dogs. The search had intensified recently, especially with Auggie’s CHF.  First of all, Auggie wasn’t playing with Payton much anymore, and poor Payton is pretty sad without a canine brother to play with. Secondly, I knew if I lost Auggie, I was going to be so devastated I wouldn’t be in the mood to add a puppy – possibly for a very long time. Hinging off the first problem, I knew it wouldn’t be fair for Payton to be an only child because of my own grief. With no way of knowing how long I have left with Auggie, I decided if it was going to happen, it needed to be… basically right now.
I also had a little hope that Auggie would be encouraged to play with a puppy. I’m sure we all know stories about old dogs with old dog diseases who get a new spring in their step when a puppy comes along. I had no idea if a puppy would actually help Auggie feel young and live longer, but I filed the hope away in my back pocket. After being assured by Auggie’s cardiologist that, if Auggie’s heart disease is controlled (and he believed at that moment that it was), additional stress from a new puppy would not kill my dog… enter Kane.

Kane (or Kaner, as he is mostly called) came from a breeder who is very close to the breeder of my other dogs, though his lines aren’t the same. It was a pretty big change for me to diverge from the lines I have loved in my other dogs, but I was ready for new blood (which isn’t as creepy as it sounds, I promise.) Similar to Payton, he was a beautifully built puppy who was unfortunately looking to go too big for the show ring, but he was obnoxious and active and loved to play. My kind of dog, most importantly – and the right kind of dog for the agility ring.
I drove up with my sister to check him out and make sure he was what I wanted.

Then, five weeks later, after bleaching all of my floors, picking everything I owned up and out of puppy-teeth range, and rearranging crates to make space for the small little puppy crate – I drove up to pick up my new baby dog.
Oh boy.



Auggie came out to meet him first and gave me a slightly withering look that seemed to say “Are you sure? Another one? If you’re sure…” Unlike Payton, who he took to immediately and began playing with right away, I had a feeling it would take Auggie a little while to come around and playing with Kane. After all, Georgie is his niece, and it took her some time to grow on him. I took his quiet acceptance and a general ignoring of the puppy as a good sign.
Then I let out Payton, who at that point in time was approximately three times Kane’s size.
This was no obstacle to either of them and they were immediate friends. Kane made it his business to jump and try to climb on top of Payton, and Payton made it his business to run as fast as he could with the little puppy trailing behind, short little legs churning in an attempt to keep up.
Payton was delighted.
So was I.
It was dark and late when we got home, but we did get a bit of playtime done inside and I managed a few (poorly lit) photos!

Checking out big Payton.

Being checked out by big Payton!

Now being checked out by both brothers.

He slept on the drive back home, and was happy to poke around and explore, but I could tell he was still pretty tired. He even started throwing a temper tantrum because he was overly tired. NO NO NO NOT TIRED NO NO

We did, however, get him tucked away in his crate and ready to go to bed. Sleep well, tiny guy!
Welcome to the family, little Kaner!