Meet Malia!

In the wake of everyone I know having babies, I would like to introduce our newest addition (one not from human origin, but an addition nonetheless!).

Meet Malia! (Malie for short)

Malia is a full-bred Saint Bernard. I fell in love with her the night I picked her up. She is the sweetest thing, has a great personality and has somewhat filled my void for having a baby right now. She is almost 10 weeks and weighs just under 20 pounds. She just got spayed last week so she will not be having any puppies of her own (try explaining that to a 3 year old!)

I think she will be a great dog for us. I haven't seen her shivering yet, despite the freezing weather (at least in the mornings). She has to live outside because Hannah has asthma & also because I don't want my house to smell like dog (and also don't want to go through the potty-training ordeal).

She loves to spend time with the kids. Wesley just adores her & she him. She chases him around any time he is outside & likes to bite on the back of his shirt & chase after him (a habit we're trying to break). Hannah is still getting used to Malie. She is REALLY afraid of dogs, so this is quite an adjustment. However, we raked leaves yesterday for 2 hours and by the time we went inside, she wasn't totally freaking out every time Malie came near her. So, we're making progress.

Malie likes to lick my toes. Actually, she likes to lick everything, but especially my toes. She also LOVES having her tummy rubbed. I think I could probably do anything to her as long as I was rubbing her tummy at the same time. She let me pick burrs out of her fur, I just had to keep rubbing her tummy.

Everyone keeps asking why I want a Saint Bernard... Why does anyone want a particular dog? I did my research & saint bernards are cute (in my opinion of course), great family dogs, super smart, cold weather resistent, etc. As far as how big she will get - her mother is 150 lbs & her father is 200 lbs. So I'm guessing closer to 150 since she's a female. Her mother's owners said she doesn't eat any more than their lab (at least once she got over 120 pounds).

Luke really likes her as well. Every morning before he goes to work & when he gets home, he plays with her. He has already taught her to sit & I'm working on "stay". I thought I had taught her "shake" the other day, but she forgot it, so I'll keep working on it. She also listens really well. When we were raking leaves, she tried to sneak out of the yard. I yelled "No", so she wouldn't go in the road & she came right back. What else can I say, I love her!!!