Audrey Rose ~ Two Years in the Lathan Family
November 26 is an anniversary day in the Lathan household! On this day in 2019, we drove three hours to Illinois, meeting and adopting our second fur-baby. I have previously written two blogs about our first fur-baby, Olivia Marjo, the most recent on October 5 (link below). Today is perfect to devote to our adorable Audrey Rose.
Olivia Marjo: Our miniature poodle’s first 2 years
Our joy with Olivia as a part of our family prompted me and husband Steve to begin the search for a new puppy. We knew we wanted another female miniature poodle and were set on finding a puppy as young as possible. The breeder we adopted Olivia from had no new puppies in the works, so throughout the month of October and into November we searched online. Almost immediately we fell in love with the “red” coloring and determined to find one, even if that meant waiting a while. As it turned out, we got very lucky with a breeder in northern Illinois who had a litter of two males and one female that would be ready in late November. Perfect!
November 26 in 2019 was the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, so obviously a busy week to bring home a new puppy. Of course, we had adopted Olivia three days before Christmas, so it felt somewhat traditional! Mainly, we simply could wait no longer to bring our sweet girl home. Hopping into the car for the long drive, we were all very excited. Or rather, the humans were excited and Olivia was blissfully ignorant. Always a relatively easy traveling dog, she happily went along for the ride (literally and figuratively) until she realized the purpose of the trip. More on that in a bit!
Before the dog-meets-puppy drama was us meeting our new baby for the first time. The images below capture our immediate love, which was reciprocated by our as-yet-to-be-named fuzzy bear. She weighed 5# 9oz and was born on September 9, so 11 weeks exactly on the day we got her.
For the entire ride home, which was close to 5 hours due to a torrential rainstorm, Olivia pressed her body into the far corner of the dog carrier and refused to acknowledge the offensive ball o’ fluff outside of warning growls! It was not an auspicious beginning, yet as we had anticipated, once at home Olivia could not resist the allure of a playful puppy. For about three weeks there were the occasional growls and snaps from Boss Dog Olivia but once she was sure the pecking order was firmly established, that stopped altogether. Two years into their relationship and the “sisters” are nearly inseparable.
It took us three days to decide upon our new baby’s name. Unlike with Olivia, we didn’t have a clear favorite although “Audrey” was in the top tier from the beginning. We took turns using the ten or so names we liked, and I kept looking at online baby name lists in case another jumped out at me, but we both kept coming back to Audrey as the one that just felt right. Her middle name had to pay tribute to her unique coloring so an assortment of “red” synonyms were considered. Rose is the rather obvious one, and normally I gravitate to something not obvious. However, Audrey Rose blends nicely together so that was our final decision.
Naturally there were challenges to having two dogs —finding the right dual-leash and grooming twice as often, for instance— that we needed to work out, on top of the rigors in training a new puppy. It was a stressful half a year, as we had anticipated. In due course we resolved the two-dog issues that arose, and Audrey proved to be extremely intelligent and a breeze to train. She matured past the oopsies on the carpet and every-two-hour outside potty trips, making day-to-day life a lot easier on her human parents. Reminding us of how it was to raise our two children, it is fun to compare the two miniature poodles for how they are similar and where their differences lie.
- Olivia was far more destructive with her toys, Audrey not once ripping a toy apart. In fact, Audrey rarely plays with toys at all, probably because she has Olivia to play with!
- Neither love being groomed or bathed, but Olivia stands still for the process whereas Audrey must be tethered to keep her from jumping off the table! She did that once and almost gave me a heart attack.
- Audrey is much more timid around people, very standoffish, and apt to bark and nip. We really have to watch her. Olivia, conversely, loves everyone and adores attention.
- Audrey can stand on her back legs for several minutes and “dances” too. It is easy to comprehend why poodles were used in circus acts! Olivia is a cross between a miniature and a toy poodle, so has stubby legs and a chunkier body. She has never been as agile as Audrey.
- Olivia has never minded traveling all that much, outside of being a bit nervous in the car, whereas Audrey vomits almost immediately.
- Audrey is our “kissy girl” — so much so that we really have to be careful or she will getcha with her looonnng tongue. Yuck! Olivia is very affectionate, but in a more reserved way, preferring to be close to us but not a huge kisser or cuddler. Audrey would happily live her whole life being held or laying on a lap.
1/2/20: First visit to Bernheim Forest
2/7/20: Audrey enjoying the snow
2/9/20: Learning to use the dual leash and new harness.
2/24/20: Sisters chilling on the bed.
3/22/20: Dancing for treats!
4/3/20: Dinner time wait for treats!
7/20/20: Posing on antique chair in mom's office. Audrey 10 mos & Olivia 3 yrs.
8/4/20: Listening intently to dad.
9/25/20: Girls roaming around the backyard.
10/26/20: My birthday with son Kyle, his wife Serena, and my daughter Emily
11/19/20: Cuddling in the bed in mom's office.
Christmas 2020: Audrey soaking in the sun.
Christmas Day 2020: A white Christmas to enjoy!
1/28/21: Audrey with dad
1/28/21: Double doggie love!
1/29/21: Morning chill time with mom.
2/1/21: First snow of the year.
2/17/21: Fun in the snow after a big ice storm.
5/23/21: Hanging out on back patio with dad.
6/23/21: Posing with mom & pals Stephanie & Claire
10/7/21: Audrey Rose, 2 years old
Now we cannot imagine life without both of our precious fur-babies.
Just about every aspect of our world revolves around Olivia and Audrey.
This is, of course, easier to do since we are both retired, as we weren’t in years past with our various pets.
In other words, we joyously spoil our girls rotten!
Best of all, they give immeasurable love, life, and laughter back to us every hour of every day.
Now it is time for you to tell me about your spoiled pets!
What adorable fur babies!! Too cute! I bet they are partners in crime as well!lol
Oh yes indeed! They can get into mischief, although it is rarely anything serious. Most often it involves mind games with each other, such as the infamous “chewy wars” when they steal each others’ chew treat or rawhide. They are quite devious about it! LOL!
Thanks for the compliment, Cindie.
My daughter recently got a cinnamon springerdoodle in Illinois. At first, I thought I was looking at Zsu Zsu, seeing her standing alone. Ours, however, will be about 35 pounds fully grown.
Such judgment free companions pets are!
35 pounds is a good size dog! We like our little babies, in part because their size make them easy to handle. Even our chunky Olivia, at about 15 pounds, can be a chore. She is heavy! LOL!!
How gorgeous! It’s lucky they now get along together, one bed is cheaper than two! 🙂
I don’t have any pets, spoiled or otherwise. We used to have a budgie which was spoiled, his cage was left open and he flew out at the sound of crisps or toast! He loved to share whatever we had and was a great ‘help’ with jigsaws! I’d put a piece in place and he would pick it out, run to the edge of the table and drop it on the floor! He lived for 14 years and was loved for every one of those!
All pets offer something unique and special, IMO. We have had rodents, lizards, cats, fish, and more. Even ants! Not sure that counts as “pets” but they are cool. LOL!
Interestingly, birds are so NOT my thing. My step-dad was into birds, including falconry, which was super fascinating. My sister is the bird person with tons of exotics over the decades. I’ll stick with dogs, thank you very much. LOL!