Two

Want to know a secret? The first half of last week was kind of rough. I found myself tearing up almost every day; it was like this weird relapse of mourning, and I just missed Kai a lot. I had weird moments where I would be putting away laundry in the closet where Kai frequently hid, and would suddenly feel tears welling up. I was vacuuming on Thursday and literally thought to myself, what I would give to have a couch full of fur again.

Before we lost Kai - way before - we had made the decision that this summer we were going to get her a sister. She was pretty bored, always howling at me when I tried to get work done, and was the most happy when she was at the dog park.

Fast forward to this spring, when we were suddenly dog-less and devastated. We pretty much immediately knew we wanted two together this time -  siblings - when the time was right. Yet we also knew we needed time to grieve Kai, and get through a busy spring.

So for the past month I started scouring husky Facebook groups and classified ads for two siblings, either two females or male/female pair, we didn't care as long as they got along and were located somewhere in Israel.

Side note: The amount of Huskies (and dogs in general) that we've seen living in Tel Aviv has possibly been more than I've seen in my entire life. Being well aware of this, I quickly became panicky that we would never find two together who needed a home. I saw plenty of single Huskies who needed homes and they would almost immediately get scooped up by a willing party.

This past Friday night, I received a message from a man I had contacted awhile ago. He was active in a Husky Israel Facebook group I belonged to, always posting pictures of his 8 huskies - three adults, and five puppies. I had messaged him simply asking where he had gotten his dogs, that they were beautiful and I was struggling to find Huskies who needed homes in Israel. He told me how he had rescued the three adults separately, and the male and female had mated and had puppies. I told him they were all beautiful and we left it at that.

His message read: How is the search for two huskies together going?

Me: Not great, I look every day though...

Him: Well, after a lot of discussion with my wife, we've come to the conclusion that we can't afford to take care of/raise all of the puppies - it's just too much. If you and your husband are willing to raise them together and give them the care they need, you can take a brother and sister home...

Me: Yes.

Coming home!

The next morning, we drove the two hours south into the desert, near the Dead Sea, and met the pack of 8 - and brought home the brother and sister - Kira and Dakota. They weren't too sure about us at first, but after a few trips to the dog park and some treats this past weekend, I think they're warming up.

They're six months old, born in November (just like Kai was). Dakota currently weighs 3 kilos less than Kira; she kind of acts like an alpha and is my shadow. We kept the names they came with as they both already know them, but we abbreviate Dakota to Koda.

They were trained in Hebrew (sit = shev) so we are working on training them in both English and Hebrew - bilingual doggos. All of my time at the dog park with Kai has taught me most of the basic commands.

Is three months after losing our first pup too soon to get two more? Really I don't think there is a right answer. I don't think you ever fully get over losing your best friend way too young, and I also don't think you are ever ready to take on raising and training two Husky puppies together in a foreign country. I do know that Kai loved all other dogs and this is what she would have wanted for us; to grow our pack and love them well.

Stay tuned, they're already a furry handful and we love it.

Cheers-

Kait

5.2

I'm happy to report that the violent cold/cough/sickening that haunted me for roughly 15 days has finally surpassed, and this week I've had the pleasure of being back to operating normally.  It's a little sad that it took a hell of a cold to remind me not to take my health for granted, but nevertheless this week I've been uber aware of way more pros, and way less cons.

Ready?  Five things Friday - 

1. Yesterday on a mid-day walk, I noticed a group of tourist snapping pictures of myself and the dog. I tried to act like I didn't notice and continued gazing off into the distance, as if in deep contemplation of life.  In reality I internally was laughing at the situation, hoping that when the tourists get back home they post the pictures and caption the one of me as:

'A local Israeli walking her native dog.'

LOL

2. Speaking of the dog - I've mentioned this before, but I'm unsure that Kai is ever going to get over the cat situation here.  Probably my favorite cat occurrence yet was also yesterday, when a cat women came out to feed the local strays near her apartment.  We just happened to be on that side of the street when literally 10+ cats began swarming the woman, meowing loudly.

Kai froze, as she usually does when she sees cats, as if it's the most alarming and fascinating situation she's ever seen.  Yet in this case, watching double digit cats shove their faces with food was simply too much.  She refused to move, or even cross the street with me; went full rigamortis to the point where the cat lady glared at me, as if we were plotting to hunt down one of the cats for our next meal. Maybe we were.

In the end, I had to pick up and carry my 50 lb dog around the cat buffet, and even after that it took her awhile to recover.

3. I will forever mix up cilantro and parsley at the grocery store.  They look the same, the labels are in Hebrew, and I'm still too lazy scared to ask the check-out lady which one is which.  Three times now I have purchase the wrong one, leaving our dinners herb-less.

Upon googling, I just discovered this great side by side comparison that still literally helps me in no way. 

4. Recently I've been doing some freelance editing/content writing for a local start-up.  The way I fell into it is absurd, but the point of me sharing is simply to note that I've discovered I really actually enjoy editing content. Like a lot. So, if anyone out there ever needs something edited - I'm your girl.  Unless it's like a 100 page document, then you're probably going to have to flash some green at me.

5. I was recently educated that this weekend is the Jewish New Year for trees - Tu Bishvat.  Because plants deserve New Years too. Supposedly you celebrate by feasting on fruit, planting trees, and drinking wine.  I can get on that train.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed five random things. Make your weekend great.

Cheers - 

Kait