she's a wonder

i'd like to introduce you to our newest family member (albeit a few months late): Wonder Wo Mann, called "wonder" for short. after three reference checks, two home visits, and four phone interviews (!!!), we finally gained approval to adopt our sweet brown girl through blue ridge boxer rescue -- the same group that gave us super seven years ago.

fortuitously, even though the rescue group services all of north carolina and south carolina as well as parts of virginia, she just happened to be fostered at a home only ten minutes down the road here in raleigh.  we were able to have her for a short visits before she officially joined us, which included taking her to the "blessing of the animals" service at our church.  we were amazed at how well she fit into what was surely the most chaotic surroundings she'd ever seen -- dogs and cats and birds and rabbits and gerbils all hanging out with their owners outside on a sunday morning.  she made not a noise, unless you count the whoosh of the air while her little nub wagged and wagged.

getting her church on

a few weeks later, just a few days after her spay operation, she joined us permanently.  well -- sort of.  we quickly noticed that she was bleeding a bit at her incision spot.  so our short-term solution was this:

  the diaper worked great -- until we left her out on the back porch while we were gone one afternoon.  we returned to find shredded up diaper all over the dadgum place

and the long-term solution was losing her for a bit.  because of the rescue group's policy to release their dogs only after they've been deemed totally healthy, she returned to her foster family to recuperate a bit longer.

when she finally did join us on a truly permanent basis, we realized what an adjustment it was to go from a totally immobile dog to one that has the energy of a puppy, to say the least.  we hadn't needed to so much as walk poor super in over a year, and now, we have a pooch that needs a ton of exercise.  luckily we have a large back yard and she doesn't stray too far, so we can just let her loose.  the second she gets outside, she'll run full-speed (she's almost like a blur, honestly, she's so fast) around and around and around the perimeter of our house.  she's an excellent partner in games of fetch -- until she decides she's had enough and just drops the tennis ball wherever she sees fit.  we've got probably a dozen old balls strewn throughout the wooded areas of our yard to prove it.

she's found her favorite spot in the house: the front window.  from there she can monitor all the going-ons of our cul-de-sac, and be the first to realize when a family member has returned home.

the christmas tree's location proved to be a bit of an obstacle for wonder -- but she made do.  and we only lost a few low-hanging ornaments in the process

there's nothing quite like driving into our driveway and seeing our pooch eagerly awaiting our return. 

 by the time we unlock the door, she's right there in the mudroom, excited to welcome us home

she's quickly learned that most furniture is off-limits.  (one of her first nights here, i climbed into bed in the dark after chris had gone to sleep.  i felt a lump on my pillow, and when my eyes adjusted, found her curled up like the queen of sheba.  that didn't last long.)

obviously she can't read.  she must think the chair, which liam had brought down from the playroom, says "wonder".  literacy lessons commence tomorrow

we toyed around with the idea, ever-so-briefly, of not replacing super when she passed away.  dogs can be difficult, especially at the beginning -- and the vomit and accidents we endured are proof of that fact.  but i'm just so thankful we found her and welcomed her into our family, because i just can't imagine life without a pooch.  not only does she keep me company at home during the day -- we call her Velcro Dog, because she's never more than a few feet away from us -- but without her, we wouldn't have hours of free entertainment.  case in point: just watch how she reacts to the reflection my knife made on the walls of our breakfast room over dinner last night.

 this isn't torture ... right?

she's brought us so much joy over these last few months. she's affectionate, patient, friendly, doesn't bark at the doorbell (a huge plus), and just fun.  in short ... she's a wonder.