Report From Puppy World

We are almost through the first month of puppy-hood in the blink of an eye. Zerline is 11 weeks old today. She has done a lot of growing. Her legs in particular seem to explode and lift her still fragile body higher and higher up into the air.

Conversations With A Hovawart #4: The Union

"Can we have a word?"

Zerline looked serious. Those big brown puppy eyes told me she had something important to share. I laid down my camera and reporters notebook, both overheated from puppy adventures, to give her my full attention.

"Dit Is Een Goed Stel, Hoor"

It's a sentence each Dutch person recognizes. Spoken by the sports commentator Theo Reitsma as he observed the Dutch national soccer team celebrate their win in the final of the European Soccer Cup in 1988. There is nothing profound about it. It simply means "This is a good team, for sure."

Summer Socialization With A Twist

In the middle of Summer all the rentals are occupied. Although I enjoy the emptiness of the West-coast during Winter, the tourists bring a special vacation atmosphere with them I have come to appreciate. People are happy and wear smiles, they have time and are not busy, or try their best not to be.

Bold and Bolder

It was the moment I had been waiting for. The moment in which I could witness Tilde and Zerline to truly connect. To find each other, enjoy each other's company while forging a bond on the road that leads to a true friendship.

Rediscovering Beauty

The rapidly swelling buzz of hundreds of bird wings made me look up in the air. A flock of Starlings made a fly-over that low, I could have touched them if I would have reached my hand out. Tilde took a sprint after them. Jumping, barking, like a crazed jack-in-a-box. Zerline, who was sitting down, looked up in amazement. Her gaze followed the birds until they disappeared over the horizon. She was mesmerized.

Breaking: Copenhagen Is Secured

Zerline took one look around the premises and knew it. This new place they call her home wasn't up to Hovawart standards at all. It was lacking some essential features. How could she keep her family safe in a place with so many gaping security holes. Zerline wasted no time. There was Hovawart-work to do!

Tilde, Meet Zerline. Zerline, Meet The Wild Thing

The sight of Tilde coming around the corner caught Zerline's eye and immediately aroused her curiosity. She quickly trotted forward to meet that dog, who must have looked a lot like her mother Amber to her.

Goodbye Rules, Welcome Grandparents

Tilde seems to know that once a year, when the grandparents make the long trip to Denmark for a visit, it signals the return of a window of opportunity in which everything once again is allowed. It will mean a short break from her mature life, maybe even a return to puppy-hood. For her, and just maybe, for all the involved too.

Countdown To Zerline, Eight More Days

Atie sent me this photo of Zerline getting acquainted with the transport bag which will bring her from Holland to Denmark. The photo captured a moment which stood out from all the other cute puppy photos I received during the last couple of weeks. The photo captured Zerline making a symbolic first step on her path which will lead to us. It signaled how close we are to having her here. How close we are for everything to become real.