Meet the newest member of the pack

Newest member Bruno or 'Bruester' (with an umlaut over the 'u') chills on kitchen floor

Tank a tad bit peeved at the newest lad perhaps?

On Monday night we welcomed the newest member to our pack, Brewster!

He came to us from Bethel, where a family who intended to train him as a hunting dog changed their mind and turned him into the Alaskan Animal Rescue Friends (AARF) in Anchorage. Our friend Aubrey, in Anchorage, volunteers for the rescue organization and she knew that Nora was on the look out for a puppy.

 Every few months Aubrey would text me a photo of a possible puppy for our home. They all looked very sweet, but none looked like quite the perfect fit for us. One of our current dogs,  Sheba, is a hyper dog and we knew we needed a puppy with a mellow disposition to help balance out the pack energy. 

Then the text of Brewster came over my phone from Aubrey.

I showed the picture to Patrick. "that looks like a good dog!" Patrick replied. 

Brewster was looking up into the camera with sweetest expression and his head at a slight angle. Aubrey offered to take Brewster into her home for the day and night in Anchorage and give him a test drive of sorts. 

Sure enough, he was cuddly and calm. He was indeed an 8 month old, golden lab puppy version of Tank. 

I put the word out on FB to see who might be in Anchorage who could bring him over. Our friend John S was over there and offered to take Brewster as a piece of checked luggage. 

At 10 PM on Monday night, I went to the airport and in the baggage check area Brewster was delivered to us. I let him out of the kennel and he took off with me on his leash. Lots of sweet puppy energy.

That night, Brewster went out the dog door and discovered the lawn. He excitedly ran around the house and we fed him and showed him the water dish. 

At 11:00 pm, Patrick and I retired to bed. We heard Brewster in the living room. I heard clunking noises. I had visions of him chewing up my shoes. Patrick investigated.

Brewster had brought in 4 or 5 elk bones from the lawn and was chewing on them in the living room. He was in bone heaven. We gave him another 30 minutes to help calm himself down but he didn't. I suggested we let him in our room. Patrick said that would set a bad precedent and  he is right. 

Patrick ended up sleeping half the night on the couch in the kitchen with Tank and Sheba on top of him and Brewster in the kennel right next to him.  It was a long night for us. 

Last night went much better. Brewster slept on a dog bed in Stueys room with Tank and Jake. 

Welcome to our home, Brewster! I have already forgotten what life was like without him.

Zoya

Hike in Abercrombie at dawn (the sun had not come up yet)

Another hike to help 'meld' the pack

Learning some pack dynamics - Bruno went into a crouch

Sheba stays close now on walks to keep with the pack