The Puppies Come Home

Today will be a busy one, as I finally will pick up Clark & Gracie, as well as Lana & Ava who will be going to new homes this week. I was going to get my two pups on Friday, but because Gracie is a climber I would have needed to take my big puppy pen home - and probably Lana & Ava too. So everyone stayed at Tom's for a few more days. Hope Tom & Dawn are prepared for this, although Sherman's departure was probably the toughest for Dawn.

This will give me a chance to know Clark and Gracie better, and decide whether or not either will stay with me or move on to new homes. Both are lovely pups and will go to show homes if I sell them. It will be very tempting to keep Clark, as he is particularly handsome, but I really do not need an extra nice Argus son right now - and really do not need another male anyway! I just happen to prefer male Dals. . .

Lana will be picked up on Tuesday, and Ava will fly out on Wednesday. Lana's new owner and a friend of hers will be driving down from Canada, along with their four pre-schoolers (two each)! Four little kids and a 10 week old puppy sounds like a wild trip! Ava will be flying NW VIP, which means she is last on, first off, a lot easier on pups than flying regular cargo. Actually, pups ship very well and generally just sleep the whole time. Ava is very easy going, and should handle things very well. Gotta pick up health certificates for both pups to travel with.

Hope I can bend over far enough to pick up a pup this evening! I've been taking out old carpeting, a mean dirty job. I don't think that bedroom furniture has been moved since it first arrived, and it is aaawwwfffuuullllllyyy heavy. Really sucks to get old!

Got my new red Chinese Hi Fin Swords settled in to their new tank. Such gorgeous fish! Their dorsals are like flags, and they resemble Sailfin Mollies as much as Hi Fin Swords. I've been wanting a group of them for so long, and finally found the right importer to buy from. These fish seem to be pretty fragile, but are incredibly gorgeous, and far more beautiful than any of the red Swords available in the US. Because they are not very prolific either, they are in very short supply. The most recent group offered on Aquabid (the EBAY for fish folks) sold for $175.00 for 5 fish, plus shipping. I bought privately, though have often bid on those fish on Aquabid - but my limit is $150.00. The pair I purchased for $100.00 lasted about a week. Fortunately these fish look MUCH healthier. FIngers crossed.