I got home from Edmonton, Alberta around 3:00AM this morning, new Leonberger puppy in tow. He was absolutely amazing on both flights, capturing the hearts of everyone who saw him and bringing smiles to the faces of weary travelers whose flights had been delayed.

His first encounter with Kisa and Larkin was cautious, but encouraging. By the end of the day, he was going out of his way trying to get them to play with him. Kisa’s not quite convinced yet, but Larkin managed to get up enough energy to spar for a minute or two.

His unofficial name is Dakota. No pictures of our own yet, but our breeder sent me a lovely shot taken on his last day in Canada.

I’m going to meet our new Leonberger puppy for the first time on Sunday morning at 9:00AM. I can barely stand the excitement.

Kisa and Larkin spent the morning at the groomer’s so they’ll be all clean and pretty when they meet their new brother. Although asking Kisa to stay that way for two days is probably a little much considering we’re supposed to get 10 inches of fresh snow this afternoon.

With all the last minute planning too close to the holidays, the breeder wasn’t able to ship him via normal means, so I’m flying to Alberta to bring him home. This is after spending all week in Ontario and jumping on a 6:00AM flight to get out of Buffalo before the storm hits.

So I guess you could say I’m dog tired and dog happy all at the same time!

A few months ago, Tom and I signed up to be adopted by a Leonberger — our third — but there were birthing complications and the little guy didn’t make it. We were heartbroken, but resigned ourselves to just wait for the next litter.

A few hours ago, our breeder called to tell us that one of the other buyers had to back out and that there was a wonderful little puppy who would love to be spending his Christmas with us if we wanted him. What? Are you nuts? Just how fast can you get him here?

Any way… travel logistics are still in the works and we’re trying hard to come up with a really good “D” name — please cast a vote in the poll on the sidebar if you have any good ideas… but he’s absolutely beautiful no matter what we call him!

References:
LionHill Kennels
Leonberger Club of America