A 3-month old female Akita, Shepherd mix with lots of energy and love. “Noke” (no-kay), her short name, comes from the movie titled “Princess Mononoke,” a Miyazaki favorite of ours. The name means “Spirit Princess” which we think is pretty fitting so far. We’ve been planning on getting a puppy for a while now, and set an easy date for Valentine’s Day because it’s roughly a month or so since we’ve been back from New Zealand. We know it’s going to be a lot of work, but it will be worth it. We’ve arranged our schedules to make it possible (also helps that Chris works 2 minutes away from home). We got her from the Humane Society of Boulder Valley (which is an amazing place that we love to support and got our kittens from there). We almost weren’t able to get her, but with some secretive work from Chris the day before, he managed to put her on hold and surprised me with the fact. Awesomesauce.

Noke is very curious and wants to know everything about anything. She likes to know what’s happening at all times whether it be in the kitchen or on a walk (which make them a little longer than usual). We got her yesterday and she’s already fit in at home. Right now, she’s passed out on the carpet after a walk and lots of play. She likes to stay close to us, which is nice on walks because she never really pulls. For the first few months of her life she had parvo (basically the flu for dogs–vomiting and pooping) and mites (making the poor girl itch!). This means she was in quarantine and very sickly for a while. Both fore-paws are shaved as IVs were necessary to provide fluids. She is now healthy and is just a little itchy from the dead mites. Since she was in quarantine for a while, so many things are new to her. She likes to stop in her tracks and stare at new things. If things are scary, she just walks a little closer to me, but doesn’t cry or cower.

She has a very sweet nature except for the occasional nip which you find in all puppies. She loves to play, chew, and run around as fast as she can. And so far she’s a big fan of sleeping (yay)! We are crate-training her and she slept through the entire night (almost 8 hours). I was ecstatic. We are so excited to see her personality and body develop. She has small paws, but a big head so we aren’t sure how big this girl is going to get. Basically from the neck down she looks like a German Shepherd and her head and face looks Akita–pretty darn cute. She’s a great listener and already knows the command “Sit” so that’s a nice plus! We’ve researched lots and have a few tricks up our sleeves to turn her into a well-mannered dog. She even got a bath (she smelled awful) and handled it great! No tantrums!

Our kitties haven’t met her yet. We are keeping them in separate rooms for now until Noke gets her last medication for the mites. They aren’t too upset about it, they get the bedroom with the sheepskin in it, so they are having hardcore nap time. I predict Nymeria will get along with the pup and Sajah will be terrified and avoid it all costs, which is why we will always have escape routes and high places for our babies. I’m excited to bring the household all together.

So that’s Noke, she’s here and ready to live! We are beyond excited, thrilled, and ready to take on this little monster. Can you say best Valentine’s Day ever? And as always…stay hungry and fit!