"Totally Tessa" Thursday

At the time this story begins we were living in Los Gatos, California and already had our male pup Westin for about two months. Missed his story? Click here! I began looking for a friend for him around the end of May when we were thinking about moving back to Georgia to be closer to family. That is how the "princess" came to live with us!

Tessa was born on March 9, 2007 and grew up on a farm in Kentucky (she's the pup with the one single dot on her back). Her father is a semi-famous stud dog nicknamed Levi who has quite an impressive show record. Her mom is a simple lady and preferred country living so that is where they stayed until Tessa was about three months old. At this time the little princess was sent back to her father's farm to join the show world and eventually become breeding stock. Fortunately for us- not so much the breeder- they noticed that Tessa's little tongue liked to hang out of her mouth which was not exactly a desirable quality in the show ring and they put her up for pet adoption. I had been emailing breeders for a while trying to find an older, sturdier puppy to join our family and become Westin's playmate since he was already four months old at the time. I contacted Tessa's human dad and after emailing me a few current photos Linc and I arranged to buy her over the internet without meeting her in person first! Yikes!

At the end of June 2007 Lincoln and I boarded an airplane and flew "home" to Atlanta where we both had grown up for the majority of our lives and where both sets of parents still resided. We had been married a year and had enough of West Coast living. Little Wes slept peacefully in my carry-on as we endured the six hour flight. Around the same time, baby Tessa was loaded into a crate and shipped from Kentucky to Hartsfield Airport all by herself! Our flights arrived within minutes of each other and we met her for the first time in a little gated yard outside the terminal. She was so petite and graceful- the complete opposite of Westin. Picture a ballerina to his line backer! The pups sniffed each other but were both a little freaked out from flying so we loaded them up and headed to our new home. We set up shop in my mother in laws house in Buckhead where we quickly learned a lot about our little country girl.

She is fearless and loves to run. If Tessa gets off her leash you better hope you have your running shoes on to catch her! That girl is FAST! The original owners must not have played with her very much because she doesn't really know what to do with toys. She was bred to hunt- to go underground and flush out critters- and she demonstrates this ability daily. You have to watch your step in the back of our yard because you might turn an ankle from the number of holes she has dug! Tess has had three kills in her life (one lizard, two chipmunks) and you would think she was the queen of the world! I have never seen her so happy, prancing all around and anxious to show me what she had done!

Tessa loves to go for walks and to explore new places. The sweetest thing about her is how cuddly she is. She loves to be carried around like a baby and I joke that I am going to get her a sling so that I can hold her up high and still use my hands! She always wants to know what is going on and needs to be in everyone's business. She goes to bed promptly at dark and if you try to move her when she is tired she will growl at you and make sure you understand what an inconvenience you are! She is a PICKY eater and her weight fluctuates a lot because of this. We call her our "Skinny Mini" as she is half the weight of Westin but just as tall and much lankier! These two make me such a happy pet owner and even though they can get on my nerves, they are the greatest dogs I could ever ask for. Hopefully now some of the newer readers know us a little better and don't think I am a complete cuckoo for posting two days in a row about my dogs!! Thanks for stopping by again and reading about my pups.See you soon!