Our Other Animals
Rin the Borzoi
Quite possibly the most loving, most charming dog you'll meet. We drove two days to get Rin, and brought Kiri, Momo, and Oki with us for the ride. Once Rin was in her crate and we were heading home, Kiri was pressed against the side of the crate; utterly in love with the new addition to the family. The two are best friends!
Borzoi aren't known for being energetic and lively like aussies are, but every morning Rin will join us for exercise and helps us out with a good round of zoomies. The aussies won't zoom without her! Once she's had her fill of exercise, she sniffs around the field, watches the others, or leans her full weight on one of us in order to get pets.
She's a singer. If you so much as sing the chorus of Wellerman, she'll throw her head back and belt out chords with you. Her favorite song is Wellerman (Nathan Evans), but she also likes Upside Down (JVKE), Movin' Out (Billy Joel), and OK Orchestra (AJR). She's always learning new songs and really loves the songs with a little bit of "la-dee-da"s in the mix, or humans howling and "oooo"-ing. If you sing quietly, she'll sing quietly, if you sing loudly, she'll go FULL VOLUME!
Rin loves people so much. So much so that when we go to the vet, she always comes along to see her favorite people. She has an odd thing about big dogs though... She's much too used to all our dogs half her size and she'll start to cry when she sees a German Shepherd or Chow Chow since they're her size!
There's a chance someday that we breed borzoi, but only time will tell. Rin will have to do a lot of proving to do before we know that. In the meantime though, she loves puppies, any puppies, and you will probably see her in photos when have a litter outdoors. With Rin around, all our puppies also get to be used to dogs that look dramatically different from them and their mothers.
Borzoi aren't known for being energetic and lively like aussies are, but every morning Rin will join us for exercise and helps us out with a good round of zoomies. The aussies won't zoom without her! Once she's had her fill of exercise, she sniffs around the field, watches the others, or leans her full weight on one of us in order to get pets.
She's a singer. If you so much as sing the chorus of Wellerman, she'll throw her head back and belt out chords with you. Her favorite song is Wellerman (Nathan Evans), but she also likes Upside Down (JVKE), Movin' Out (Billy Joel), and OK Orchestra (AJR). She's always learning new songs and really loves the songs with a little bit of "la-dee-da"s in the mix, or humans howling and "oooo"-ing. If you sing quietly, she'll sing quietly, if you sing loudly, she'll go FULL VOLUME!
Rin loves people so much. So much so that when we go to the vet, she always comes along to see her favorite people. She has an odd thing about big dogs though... She's much too used to all our dogs half her size and she'll start to cry when she sees a German Shepherd or Chow Chow since they're her size!
There's a chance someday that we breed borzoi, but only time will tell. Rin will have to do a lot of proving to do before we know that. In the meantime though, she loves puppies, any puppies, and you will probably see her in photos when have a litter outdoors. With Rin around, all our puppies also get to be used to dogs that look dramatically different from them and their mothers.
Suzy the Moggie
Technically his name is Susano, and was meant to shorten to Soos... but Suzy just sort of stuck..!
When we lived in New Hampshire, we went to a little dog rescue in Vermont that had ended up bringing a litter of kittens back from the south. We looked over the kittens and Jacques picked the one that was hanging upside down from the top of the crate while mewling incessantly.
Suzy is a playful cat but a very tolerant cat. He puts up with a lot from so many dogs. We built in our bedroom a series of shelves and cat trees that let him travel several feet above the rest of us so that he can lord over his domain. He's a good boy and likes his neck scratched so much that you can really dig your fingers in there and he'll only be happier for it.
Suzy gets to meet many of the puppies we take care of. He sniffs them curiously but never gives them attitude, offering the pups a good first impression of a feline family mate.
When we lived in New Hampshire, we went to a little dog rescue in Vermont that had ended up bringing a litter of kittens back from the south. We looked over the kittens and Jacques picked the one that was hanging upside down from the top of the crate while mewling incessantly.
Suzy is a playful cat but a very tolerant cat. He puts up with a lot from so many dogs. We built in our bedroom a series of shelves and cat trees that let him travel several feet above the rest of us so that he can lord over his domain. He's a good boy and likes his neck scratched so much that you can really dig your fingers in there and he'll only be happier for it.
Suzy gets to meet many of the puppies we take care of. He sniffs them curiously but never gives them attitude, offering the pups a good first impression of a feline family mate.
Mozart (Momo) the Longhair Chihuahua
Years ago, Sonja Daday (the founder of Waldfrieden) dabbled in breeding chihuahuas and Momo comes from the first litter of her breeding pair. The sire was black and the dam was brown, and Momo here was born... pure white! Sonja was worried he was albino and could potentially have disabilities, so Jacques offered to adopt him before the little pup had even opened his eyes.
A common thing we hear from folks who meet Momo is "I didn't know chihuahuas can be that nice!" That's too bad, because they're real darlings when they are nice! Momo is a sweet thing that loves attention. Whenever we attend family get-togethers, Momo comes along. Our friend who said he'd never have another dog again says he'd steal Momo from us.
Momo doesn't like to play energetic games and downright does not like puppies (they really don't respect him as an Adult Dog..). If it was up to Momo, he would spend all day sleeping on our bed. Whenever he's on our bed, he likes to be on the softest, highest point on the bed. Like a throne.
Momo has a chronic urinary issue and has to be on special food.
A common thing we hear from folks who meet Momo is "I didn't know chihuahuas can be that nice!" That's too bad, because they're real darlings when they are nice! Momo is a sweet thing that loves attention. Whenever we attend family get-togethers, Momo comes along. Our friend who said he'd never have another dog again says he'd steal Momo from us.
Momo doesn't like to play energetic games and downright does not like puppies (they really don't respect him as an Adult Dog..). If it was up to Momo, he would spend all day sleeping on our bed. Whenever he's on our bed, he likes to be on the softest, highest point on the bed. Like a throne.
Momo has a chronic urinary issue and has to be on special food.
Oki-Sama the Shiba Inu
Oki is a dog that Brittany had gotten years ago when she was in highschool. Shiba inus being perfect companions for solo young folk about to head out into the world as they're independent enough for a busy schedule, small and quiet enough for most apartments, and yet also intelligent and loyal. Oki is an old bat now but a dearly beloved member of the family.
This is probably the part where I tell you that she's a darling girl like I might say about the other dogs. That'd be the biggest lie in the world.. There's few dogs more surly than Oki! She's snippy and hates most other dogs with an unbridled passion. It's downright amazing that the other dogs in our family have not only earned her patience, but her care in some cases. Artigan and Momo in particular have become dear friends to Oki. Oki prefers our cat though.
Oki loves stuffed animals, sometimes picking one up and walking around while crying happily. Or worriedly? As if she doesn't know what to do with her affinity for it.. Some stuffed animals Oki has owned for over a decade, and when she loves a stuffed animal a lot, she learns the name of it. Say "unicorn" and she'll get the unicorn. Say "pikachu" and she'll nab her pikachu!
Despite her attitude, Oki is extremely good with kids to a degree I've never seen matched in any other dog. This isn't to the offense of other dogs; a lot of dogs are great with kids, but Oki is on another level. Sorry pups around the world, you'll take second place at best in that competition.
Oki has a number of health issues that are likely due to coming from a poor breeder. She has to eat puppy food for one thing, and gets frequent wet cat food for their higher protein percentage (not that she's complaining about that).
Ultimately, Oki is the reason I'm writing this page out. She's getting old and we'll miss her when she's gone.
This is probably the part where I tell you that she's a darling girl like I might say about the other dogs. That'd be the biggest lie in the world.. There's few dogs more surly than Oki! She's snippy and hates most other dogs with an unbridled passion. It's downright amazing that the other dogs in our family have not only earned her patience, but her care in some cases. Artigan and Momo in particular have become dear friends to Oki. Oki prefers our cat though.
Oki loves stuffed animals, sometimes picking one up and walking around while crying happily. Or worriedly? As if she doesn't know what to do with her affinity for it.. Some stuffed animals Oki has owned for over a decade, and when she loves a stuffed animal a lot, she learns the name of it. Say "unicorn" and she'll get the unicorn. Say "pikachu" and she'll nab her pikachu!
Despite her attitude, Oki is extremely good with kids to a degree I've never seen matched in any other dog. This isn't to the offense of other dogs; a lot of dogs are great with kids, but Oki is on another level. Sorry pups around the world, you'll take second place at best in that competition.
Oki has a number of health issues that are likely due to coming from a poor breeder. She has to eat puppy food for one thing, and gets frequent wet cat food for their higher protein percentage (not that she's complaining about that).
Ultimately, Oki is the reason I'm writing this page out. She's getting old and we'll miss her when she's gone.