Dog Daze

The best way to get a puppy is to beg for a baby brother 

- and they'll settle for a puppy every time.  ~Winston Pendelton

I don't know if Reina has begged for either a puppy or a baby brother, but she certainly got both. A puppy baby brother. Yes, our family has grown once again, although our newest member is not from out of town; he was born here in the North about six weeks ago. 

He's a dear little thing who often looks like a tiny polar bear cub. He was rescued from a litter of nine puppies and although he probably doesn't realize it, he's an extremely lucky guy. His litter-mates who are not taken into homes are fated to live as random Rez dogs or perhaps become a fox's dinner.

We wanted our new puppy's name to convey his Northern origins, so he is called Nanuq, which means "polar bear" in Inuktitut. We do not live in an Inuit village, rather the people here are mostly Cree, but the Cree word for "polar bear" is Wapask, and that didn't seem like a great puppy name.

Nanuq is part Husky (see ears and tail), part Labrador, and likely part something else, although your guess is as good as mine. The only other guess I would hazard is wolf, as he has quite the howling capabilities! We Neo-Northerners and also Neo-Dog Owners wondered if we were crazy to bring a second puppy into the household so soon, although so far the worst hardship has been the lack of sleep from dealing with a baying puppy at night.

Nanuq and Reina are not the best of friends as of yet, although I anticipate that they will be soon. In may ways they are polar opposites: they're like night and day in colouring, obviously, and he's quite a bit smaller than her. He also has very dainty feet that look almost too small for him while Reina has her huge paws to deal with. He loves to snuggle on my lap, while she refuses, preferring to explore and get into trouble. That being said, Nanuq has shown some serious spunk (what else would you expect from a Rez pup) and they should be well-matched once he sizes up a bit. I think they'll be thick as thieves.

The above picture is the best I could do to get them in the same shot without them sparring or both being asleep. Reina has almost doubled in size since we got her a month ago, now clocking in at 22 pounds. Baby Nanuq weighs only four.
 
So Reina may not have asked for a baby brother, but with some coaxing she should be happy to have a companion with whom to play and find some mischief. Like the old saying goes, you can choose your friends but you can't choose your family. Well we're all here in The North together whether we like it or not, so hopefully our little Queen will choose to be friends with a Polar Bear so we can be one happy family.