KEANI

Keani came to  us because of a special circumstance. On our part, not his.
After many years of monthly disappointments, oceans of tears and a seemingly endless parade of procedures, we finally accepted that having the family we had wanted would not become a reality. So, one day, I walked into the office where my husband was working, stood in front of him and said, "I want a little dog."

Understand, we are not really little dog people. We love animals, and we love dogs, but we prefer the larger breeds like Great Danes, St. Bernards, Irish Wolfhounds, Tibetan Mastiffs - and, of course, the Hungarian Kuvasz. Our dog ownership plans had always revolved around these and other giant breeds.

But one cannot cuddle a huge dog on one's lap, or have it lie on one's chest, or carry it around. Although the large breeds can be cuddle bugs, and kissers, it's a slightly different relationship.

My husband, especially, is a lover of giant breeds. On top of this, we'd definitely not planned on adding a second dog to the family quite yet. So imagine my surprise when I made my announcement and he said, simply, "Okay."

It took us over a year to find Icewind. In comparison, finding Keani was a whirlwind search. It didn't take us long to narrow down the list to three breeds: the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, the Coton de Tulear, and the Tibetan Spaniel.

The 'Tibbie' won.

There are even fewer breeders of Tibetan Spaniels in Canada then there are in the U.S., but we found a great one in British Columbia who sent us oodles of photographs so that we could see our little boy growing up.

In March of 2009, Keani Evening Song flew in from B.C. He was about nine weeks old and weighed approximately four pounds - a meltingly adorable soft squishy ball.

Unlike Icewind, Keani lost no time in making himself comfortable. We put him in his pen when he first came home, and after a few moments of investigation, he immediately grabbed one of his new toys and tried to drag it onto his new bed. There was obviously no doubt in his mind that they were his. 

Keani has, without effort, twined my husband and I around his white-tipped velvet paws. His bright eyes, little nose, and black mask are irresistible. Smart, mischievous and willful, he can definitely be challenging and exasperating, but we have a hard time being mad at him, no matter what he does (or doesn't do)

*Sighs* Can we say putty? I used to feel guilty over spoiling him. We'd always told ourselves that our dogs would all be  obedient and unspoiled. Maybe it's because I go all fuzzy around him, but I can't help giving into this little man. And I've stopped lecturing myself about it.

So now I give myself free reign to run to him when he cries (and he knows I will!), and smile instead of scold when he's being bratty. He sleeps on our bed (something we thought we'd never do) and gets his way in almost everything except for what's bad for him (like eating our prepared foods, for example)

And Icewind? Icewind is a stoic, gentle and loving big brother who only complains a little when Keani runs at his paws, or ears, or tail to try to start a chase. He shares his food, his bones and his toys. When Keani was a tiny pup, Icewind would move extremely carefully so that he wouldn't hurt Keani by accident. Keani, in turn, loves his big brother very, very much.