Meet our latest addition!!

Say hello to Bella!!  She's our new baby!  She's 10 weeks old at the time of this post and a total gem.  We picked her up today from a really sweet family.

She is half leonberger and half bernese mountain dog.  She is going to be a very big dog!!  She seems to have a very laid back temperament, and loves to lay around and sleep.

I saw her on Blocket.se and well talked my boyfriend into going to look at her in person last weekend.  We drove 1½ hrs to see her.  Spent the same amount of time there playing with the puppies.  For me it was a toss up  between 2 dogs.  But for my boyfriend there was only one.  The only puppy that had white toes, our Bella.

So we went home and talked about it.  I was an absolute yes, and he was a maybe.  As you can see, in the end....I won.  :)  We had some hurdles to overcome and some logistics to figure out.  But it all turned out wonderful.

So we picked her up tonight, and had to drive home again 1½ hrs.  After finding out the puppy got car sick and threw up on the way home from the vet's earlier.  lol.  So we were a little nervous.  We put a blanket on the backseat, and I decided to sit back there with her to keep her company.  So as soon as the car started moving she came and laid down next to me.  A few times during the car ride she seemed to get a bit agitated.  But we managed to make it home without any incidents.  By the end of the car ride though she climbed into my lap and wouldn't leave my lap.  Even when we pulled into up to our apartment and I opened the car door.  She didn't even try to move (which is good at her age...I just hope she stays that way).

We got her inside (See video) and let her explore the apartment for a few mins.  Then we put out food and water for her.  It seemed as though she was afraid of the food bowls.  At one point I had to feed her out of my hand, and got her real close to the dog bowls.  She even decided to drink some water and briefly stuck her head into her food dish....but then it moved and she jumped away.  Hahahaha.  But I guess later on she changed her mind about the dishes.  :)  Sorry for crappy quality.

All in all we are super happy with her!  She's very sweet.  We hope she will become more comfortable with us and here and all the kids and other dogs in our neighborhood that are dying to meet her.  So far she doesn't seem to want to be far from us.  She is absolutely adorable when trying to fund down the hallway to one of us.  She just looks like a rhino or a bull (in miniature of course with fur).  She's just so muscular and strong looking.  Built like a tank!

Now, a little bit about dog shopping here.  Dogs are more expensive here then in the states.  We don't really have pounds and shelters here like back in the states.  People spend an insane amount of money on their dogs ($500-$1000 for mixed breed and $1500-$2500 for pure breed).  There is even a law here that says you can't leave your dog home alone for more then 4 hrs.  And people bring their dogs with them just about anywhere.  During the summer they are everywhere in the town square where all the restaurants and cafes are.  So buying and owning a dog is a bit different here.

Oh and she did the cutest thing tonight!!  When she was exploring, she walked under our coffee table and stopped and stared at the tv cable box.  Then all of a sudden she started growling at it.  It was hilarious.  She is apparently very sensitive to sounds, including the dull hum the cable box makes.  Hahahaha.

All in all I'm thrilled to death and we are so happy!