November 13, 2013

Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback

When we were living in Hawaii we were constantly visiting the pet store. We loved our landlord's dog, but we really wanted one of our own. For multiple reasons getting a puppy in Hawaii was not a practical idea, so we waited. 

After moving back, we started visiting the local shelter frequently and also checking out craigslist, but still we held off on adopting. We waited through the winter and then we wanted to get through June/July because we had 5 weddings, 5 weekends in a row, 3 of which we were going to be traveling for (we'll get to that). But we were still looking. 

However, one April weekend, we came across this face...



King, they called him. He was 3-5 months old. Had some scars down his side. When all the other dogs were barking and jumping at the walls of their cages, this little guy looked at us, laid down, and wagged his tail. We got him out to play and decided to put in our application. He wouldn't be ready for adoption for another week. 

We hadn't decided for sure if we wanted to adopt him or not. We wanted another chance to get to know him. The day he was available for adoption they told Tyler that we had to come get him or they would go to the next application. It was a Friday and I had to work so I couldn't go. At the time, Tyler was between jobs so he had to go and make the decision alone. Luckily, he decided that this guy was the dog for us! I got this picture as Tyler was taking him home. 


King was not his real name. Instead we gave him a new, more fitting name. We named him Norbert. We don't know what his mix truly is but Norwegian Ridgeback sounds pretty good. Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback, our little fluff dragon. And in case you are wondering; yes, we love Harry Potter. 
{ Source :: But don't listen to the people in the forum, the dog version does exist... we just have the only one }

Tyler got to spend a week with him before he started his new job, and he was able to get Norbert acclimated. They did a lot of bonding while I was at work and Tyler was definitely his clear favorite for a while, but now I think we have evened out a lot more. 

We quickly learned that he was a pretty smart dog, but he is also a little bit quirky. He was rescued from animal control so the Humane Society didn't know any of his history. He has scars down his side, and he is not very brave when there isn't any light. AKA he's scared of the dark and often spooks at shadows. But he loves to play and is a superb cuddler.

{ A green dog after rolling in the fresh cut grass }


We quickly found out that he was a little smartypaws. He conquered all of the tricks in his Puppy 1 class by the 2nd week of the 6 week class. I don't want to brag, but he is the best "stayer" I've ever seen.  BUT he also likes to chew things up, and he's smart enough to be ironic about it... 


We taught him plenty of fun tricks too! How to beg, play dead, and become a T-Rex. 


The best trick of all, though... is how to DRIVE...



He's great. 







He has a love/hate relationship with our vacuum...


He loves going to sleep "under" the bed...






There's something about a dog dragon that brings a little more life and excitement to a home. We love the entertainment he provides us, the walks he takes us on, and we just couldn't be more in love with our new Norwegian Ridgeback. 

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