A month ago we saw an ad on Craigslist for two free beagle puppies (11 months old). The owners were going to start traveling alot with their jobs and wanted the dogs to go to new homes. We went to see these sisters, Sophie and Irie, and took Wriley along to see if it would be a right fit. Sophie was very skiddish, they thought maybe she was neglected before they got her. Irie was very smart and could be walked without a leash. After ALOT of sniffing they all three seemed fine with each other. We thought we'd give it a try and the owners said if it didn't work out they'd take them back. We got home and slowly introduced the girls to Ranger. They were very sweet, but jumped ALOT. Ranger sniffed and they seemed okay, so we went to bed, separating Sophie and Irie from Ranger and Wriley. The morning went fine until Hallister and Preston were up. As I fed Preston in the chair and Hallister played Ranger sat at my feet. Anytime the girls came close to Preston or Hallister, Ranger would growl and then bark at them until they backed away. It was surprising, but also very sweet, to see Ranger so protective of the boys. Wriley played okay with the girls outside but Ranger stayed close to us. They would never intentionally hurt Hallister, or we wouldn't have gotten them, but they did jump a lot and Ranger didn't like it. He started a lot of fights so we decided it was too much for us.
To make a long story short we called the owners and gave the girls to the person that had called after us. If anything though, the experience made us appreciate our dogs so much more.
Wriley is a sweet girl. She loves to play fetch or chase after us running, and curl up on the couch next to us. She does not get to play fetch much since Ranger usually takes the toy from her. She does not like to be suddenly moved or stepped on while sleeping, and has snapped at Hallister before for doing that, but she'd never bite. She is 4 years old. Ranger is a big, cuddly bear. You can do anything to him and he will whimper but never retaliate. He has brought us 4 bunny rabbits, so we know despite him being bigger he is quick. He will be 3 March 17th. He sleeps in funny positions, as you see in the picture. His markings are called "saddleback" because his back is all black. He loves ice cubes and can even catch them in his mouth when you throw them. He now sleeps with Hallister, and that has helped Hallister sleep until 7am in the mornings. He is
definitely our guard dog. One night around midnight he was growling and barking at the back door and would not go out the dog flap. He is able to open it with his nose, and usually does this when he has to go potty. Since he would not go out Jonathan got his gun out and turned the light on. We will never know if someone was out there, but we felt protected. Wriley and Ranger have been neglected since the boys arrived but I am so thankful we have "man's best friends" and they want to protect us.
The theme of Hallister's room is Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. You can see his car bed, the airplane above his bed, and his train table. Those are his three favorite things to play with. He is now 2 1/2 so I thought it was time to update everyone. On a typical day he wakes up around 7am and knocks on his door to let us know he is awake. (He has a child lock on the doorknob on the inside.) He then says hi, gives us hugs, and says biscuit or pancake. Those are his favorite breakfast foods. Biscuit also means muffin. Most of the time he is carrying his Thomas the Train with him. He likes to wear his Thomas pajamas to bed, or if he doesn't get to, he will hold the top or pants like a blankie and sleep with it. A new, but gross, game of his is to send his trains down the midnight express tunnel......meaning in the diaper genie. We play hard all morning, especially during Preston's nap. He loves to run, be chased, and dance. We play hide-n-go seek a lot. We eat lunch at 11am, usually a PB&J, macaroni, nutri-grain bar, and crackers. Hallister then naps from noon-2pm. We have a
snack, then play outside or go for a walk. He loves to swing, especially when we push him and then run under him. Sometimes we will go to McDonalds to play on the playscape if it is too hot outside. We eat supper at 5:30pm and he must at least try everything on his plate or we break out the spoon. We found out just yesterday that he likes rice. Hallister and Preston take a bath together now. This is helping Hallister learn to share his toys and not to splash. Preston goes to bed at 6:30pm and then Hallister gets some good wrestle time in with Daddy. At 7:30pm we clean up the living room (while singing the clean up song, Hallister loves to sing), and then 8pm is bed time. Hallister can count to ten and he knows his ABC's. He loves to sing Jesus loves me and Stand Up for Jesus. Potty Training?.....no, he is still not interested. We look forward to encouraging him with his talents, seeing him learn, and watching him be the leader and hero that is the meaning of his name, Hallister.
