Our new pup

On our way home from the lakehouse at the end of last month, we added to our 15 passenger crew when we stopped near Dwight to pick up our new puppy. We've been patiently awaiting the newest member of our household since she was born in June. She's a Great White Pyrenees.

If you're not familiar with that breed, let me introduce you... they are big dogs. The females are around 85 pounds. They are courageous, obedient, and loyal. They are very gentle and affectionate with its family and children. We chose this breed for all of those reasons, plus what they are most known for... being a livestock guardian. After watching a coyote chase a chicken right up onto our porch with Lady (our blue heeler) barking at her the whole time, we decided that Lady needed a team mate. At ten weeks old, she's just about the same size as Lady, so next year at this time, we'll be asking that ol' coyote to give it another try... ha, ha, ha (cynical laugh)...

We all fell in love with her right away. She is a big ball of fluff and oh, so fun to pet. Even thought she's a ten week old puppy, she is soooo calm. I love it! We came up with a few different names, and finally narrowed it down to two... Tiny or Mini. The kids loved the irony of naming a huge dog such a small name, of course, so we settled on Mini and changed it to Minnie (not after the mouse). We looked up her name and found that it means, "determined protector". Perfect!