Meet Gus!

I'd like to introduce you to Augustus, a.k.a. Gus, a.k.a. Mr. Trick. As you know, we got him last weekend, and he's been keeping us very busy. He is a really funny little guy, very active and inquisitive. He's also super smart, which is not really the best thing; he already knows how to open the door to his crate, but thankfully his dexterity doesn't quite match up to his brain...yet. He pushes his paw on the latch but can't quite manage to lift it up and move it over. I'm sure it's only a matter of time, though.

We got him from a rescue org., so we aren't 100% sure what type of breed he is, but they are fairly certain that he is half Miniature Schnauzer and half Yorkshire Terrier, which they call a "snorkie" (ridiculous, I know). He certainly looks it and seems to have the personality traits of both breeds.

We are taking him for his first vet appointment later today (well, first with us...he has been for shots before). I'm hoping the vet can give us a better idea of his age. At first, the rescue group thought he was three months old. Then later they told us he was probably closer to five months. He is small, only 9 lbs right now, but as part Yorkie, that's to be expected.

Gus also needs to go to the groomer; as you can see from these pics, he is way scruffy. But we wanted to make sure he was healthy, happy, and settled before we worried about that. And we also need to sign up for puppy classes so he can be better socialized with other dogs. So far, when we've tried walking him around the block, he barks at every other dog. We obviously don't know what amount of socialization, if any, he has had with other dogs or people, so we need to address that pretty soon.

I read somewhere that puppies need 18 hours of sleep a day, but Gus didn't get that memo because he just goes and goes. His favorite toys are a stuffed chipmunk and a stuffed teddy bear. He alternates carrying them around in his mouth and sort of "killing them," which is really cute but also kind of terrible when you think about what terriers were originally bred for. He tried to chase a bunny in the back yard yesterday, but thankfully we had him on the leash and held him back till the bunny got away.

We've had him for less than a week, and I could already write pages, but I'll save the rest for another post.

I hope everyone has a good weekend! And godspeed to those of you braving Black Friday sales in stores today. I prefer to do my holiday shopping online in my pjs, but I definitely understand the appeal of the crazy sales that are offered in stores only. I wish you all good luck and good deals! xo, Mary

P.S. I'm having a Black Friday sale in my Etsy shop today only. Use coupon code "BF2013" to save 20% on everything, even stuff already marked down. :)