Our babies are not the human kind.
They each came into our lives at about two months of age.
Loki is a blue point Siamese cat. She came to us from Valley City in April 2010. She had been born on February 18th and there were two girls left. When we picked her up, the lady told us she had already given the other kitten to another family, but saved us the more "affectionate" one.
We couldn't get over how tiny (and cute) our two-month-old kitten was!
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| Despite her sweet, innocent demeanor, we knew better. We named Loki, after the Norse god of Mischief. |
Loki got her first bath a few days later. It didn't go as well as we'd hoped.
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| Look at that sweet, scared face. |
Who'd have thought she could be capable of...this:
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| My hand and arm after Loki's first bath. |
A couple weeks later, Loki got a little sister. We had been waiting for two months--ever since she was born on March 17, 2010 (St. Patrick's Day)--to bring Mila, the Maltese-Yorkie (Morkie) puppy home.
Two of my sisters came along for the drive to pick her up from Portland, North Dakota. It was nice to have someone keeping an eye on her during the drive, although she did great on her first car ride.
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| My first time holding Mila. Most of the time, her tongue was flying over my face at 100 miles per hour. |
Mila and Loki took some time to get to know each other. They didn't do much else during that first day....
One might have thought they hated each other. They were doing what cats and dogs do best: fighting. But they really did love each other.
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| See? |
Of course, Mila needed her first bath at some point. She really wasn't a fan of the water (still isn't). Loki has only had two baths; she's pretty clean. Mila has had dozens. As you might guess, dogs aren't as clean as cats.
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| Look at her little leg, clinging onto my arm for dear life. |
About a week later, we found out that Mila had Giardia, an intestinal parasite. She was to be quarantined, meaning she had to miss out on the camping fun during Memorial Day weekend.
It's hard to socialize a dog when she has to be quarantined for a couple weeks of her first few months of life. She wasn't allowed to have contact with any other animals. Now, she gets super nervous around other dogs until she has had an chance to get acquainted.
Meanwhile, poor Loki gets left behind when we go on trips. Maybe some day she will have another sister or brother to keep her company while we are away....
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| I think she was about five months old in this picture. |
I started Mila's training right away. Potty training was a breeze; she seemed to grasp the concept that her business was to be done outdoors. Besides the rare accident, she now refuses to pee inside the house, even when I try to get her to use a potty pad.
We started with one of the basic commands: sit.
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| Good girl, Mila. |
Mila responded well to positive reinforcement. So, we moved on to "lie down". From there, we haven't really done much, but she is a smart dog. (I'm starting to work on a few new things with her now, which I might mention in the blog at some point.)
Oh, look--it's Loki's first Christmas! She sure did love the tree.
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| Fortunately, the tree stood until we took it down after Christmas. |
Loki turned one on February 18, 2011. She celebrated a quiet birthday with a special treat and a new toy. Look at how big she has grown!
Then Mila turned one on March 17th. We went to the pet store to buy her a special doggy cookie and some cute hair bows. You may be surprised to learn she wasn't too fond of either. She eventually figured out how to eat the cookie. She still hasn't quite learned how to like being pretty.
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| But, seriously. Isn't it cute on her?! |
Although that isn't the end of their stories, this is the end of my post--for now.
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Learn More:
Mila and Loki each have their own blogs. Follow along to keep updated on their antics:
