More to Love!

Who's tall and blond, wields a sword better than most men, and is as honorable as they come?

Brienne of Tarth

If you recognized Brienne, you're probably a fan of Game of Thrones. The newest addition to our family comes to us from the house of Spartacus the Valiant. Really. That's her dad's name. He's a purebred black Labrador Retriever. She's a blond with a bold and fearless attitude.

All 13 pounds of her against our 85 pound Tobias (not her father).

I'd like to introduce you to our very own Brienne of Tarth, just Brienne around the house, and maybe "Bri" for short, but her tag bears the entire moniker (it's been ordered, but hasn't yet arrived). We're still getting around such a big name for a little puddle of blondness.

We met her this past Wednesday, but we had agreed to take her before we even saw her. My best friend had picked out one of her littermates for her brother-in-law and had shared some photos with me. We'd been talking about getting another dog for the past few months, so this litter came up at just the right time. After we went and met her, my best friend decided to take another one of the black pups to keep for herself. She and her husband already have two yellow labs.

Purebred, but very rare. He wasn't available.

Brienne came from a litter of eleven: three blacks, seven yellows of varying shades, and a very unusual black and tan. LV, the breeder, told us that it is a rare coat color that comes from the perfect pairing of recessive genes. She told us to check out Guiding Eyes for the Blind's website as they have some good information about this coat color, which is very unusual in labs.

First car ride. She was very "stressed" out.

I picked her up on Friday afternoon and drove straight to the vet. She had had her first round of vaccinations but was due for the second. It seemed best to get her checked out before we even brought her home. Travis Thurman, our canine vet, gave her a clean bill of health and thought she was a very nice looking puppy. I think he says that to everyone though. Dr. Thurman is the vet who helped us nurse Tobias through parvo. 

Settling in.

My husband bought Brienne a ginormous memory foam bed to park alongside Tobi's equally ginormous and fluffy bed. They take take up half the bedroom. Of course, she wouldn't sleep in the thing until I dragged it to my side of the bedroom and snuggled her to sleep. Every three hours. It was a long night, but having done this for three other labs, I know she'll learn the routine in no time.

We're quite smitten with her already. Tobias seems to like her, but he needs her to get a bit bigger before she'll be much fun. It won't take her long.

Brienne of Tarth