Did i not promise you puppies??

Most of my week following christmas was spent being sick.  mostly from exhaustion and travel and too much time surrounded by cats.  i managed to watch the entire series of Rome-

It was good, but a little too "HBO" for me.  I mean, i know Romans were free spirits and all, but there was so much peen in that show it was ridiculous.  The best part was watching Matt watch Caesar get stabbed.  Total shocker for him.


We went to Matt's Grandma in southern Indiana, then we went back to Chicago, and then we went to Michigan.  SO MUCH TRAVEL.


The reason we went to Michigan was to see our baby girl Waffles!


Matt and i decided to get a dog about 6 months ago, but the only problem is that Matt has really sever allergies.  Like daily medication severe.  So, to have any pets, they have to be completely hypoallergenic. After diligent research, we found the basenji.  Its a short-haired completely hypogenic barkless dog from northern africa (sometimes called the congo dog.)  It looks like a dingo.  Actually it might be a dingo for all i know, because it is very atypical from your standard dog.  

the mighty basenji

They're small too, which appeases my fear of big dogs.  Waffles will probably top out at around 22lbs, unless she gets really fat.  But, basenji's love to run.  and run.  and run.  So maybe it will prevent both of us from getting fat.


Basenji's are somewhat hard to find because they are super rare, mostly because they only breed once a year (most other dogs breed at least twice a year)  There also aren't very many breeders, just because it isn't a commonly heard of dog.  I looked into adopting, but there were only a few dogs in the country needing homes, and they were all more than 12 hours away.  We found the closest breeder in Michigan, and he has been really awesome, letting us meet and play with the parent dogs (just to make sure the hypo-allergenic thing was true) and experience their personalities.  They are very cat-like.  The one thing that always irked me about dogs is when they bowl you over and jump on you, but the basenji's are friendly in an aloof way.  They act very serene and poised.  I think thats why they were so highly regarded in egyptian culture.

Waffles.

Well, waffles litter was born the second week of December!  Here is a picture of newborn waffles with her 7 brothers and sisters.

Their little puppy eyes aren't even open yet!!
Waffles was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when we went to see her.  Here is a close up:

The only non blurry picture is when she fell asleep

Waffles and her sister

We get to pick her up to take home with us at the end of the month, and i am SO EXCITED!  so now you have met my new partner in crime and future running buddy!