blah blah blah dog blah blah blah

So this has been a pretty fantastic weekend thus far. In addition to the fact that we got four days off for the Easter holiday, and that two of those days have been blue bird and sunny, our good friend Miller aka Millhouse aka Milldog aka Miller Time aka Ole Dirty Miller (notice I did not mention ‘Mi-mi’ Nikki!) has finally arrived on our shores. As most of you know we have been eagerly awaiting this and spending a lot of time stressing over it. We both heard a few horror stories about dogs coming over and not having their paperwork in order and having to go into quarantine. Therefore despite the fact that we checked all of the details a million times, we were both a bit nervous driving down to Heathrow on Friday morning.

However everything went perfectly according to plan. We got down to the Animal Reception Center, signed in and waited about 10 minutes. Soon enough they called our name, we signed a quick document and they walked him out. He was cowering a bit and nervously shaking his hind quarters but he saw us and his eyes lit up. He even came right over and licked my face just like the first time we met. This coupled with the fact that he urinated on the floor due to nerves assured us that all was exactly as we had left. Kathleen took him out right away and they frolicked a bit.

We drove him home and immediately took him out for a long walk around Sefton Park. Here he immediately fell in love with his new ball thingie with feet and horns and showed off how well he has gotten at fetching. He was incredibly jet lagged though so we called it an early night and put him to bed rather early.

We did not have a completely restful night, but Kathleen will fill you in on that next post.

On Saturday we headed down to the river to check out the promenade. On the way, we discovered Pleasure Island (or what is left of it) but this again will have to wait for another post. As I said earlier, it was a beautiful day and it was perfect for just bumming around down by the river. Miller met a few friends and was again the envy of pretty much everybody. We then headed over to an outdoor beer garden and posted up with the pup for a few pints. It was one of those perfect spring days to sit in the sun and have a few drinks. Easter weekend is pretty rad over here…

Today is Sunday and we knew it was going to be sunny again, so we took Miller to his third country: Wales. We took him to Conwy for a six mile hike up and across the ridges of Mt. Conwy. At only 995 feet, it was not the most strenuous hike, but it sits right on the coastline and there were some killer views. There were also feral ponies that sparked a discussion on how much time really needs to pass between feral and wild. We also wondered why little girls want ponies so badly. Kathleen was really no help in this department, but she said a few times how much she wanted one when she was younger.

After descending the astounding heights we had reached, our hike cut through a few sheep farms. Again, I was amazed how so much land here is okayed for public use. We just walked through people's farms and it was no issue at all. Well, not to the farmers anyway. Miller distinctly dislikes both sheep and lambs. He does not really enjoy being close to domesticated ponies either.

We made it back to town alright and I grabbed a few paninis while Kathleen and Miller hung about and watched traffic. We have noticed that he has gotten some separation anxieties, but who can blame him? Whenever one of us leaves, he freaks out a bit until the person returns. It is kinda cute at this point, but hopefully will not get worse. We did leave him alone in the crate for a few hours yesterday and he was cool.

So all in all, we are feeling pretty great to have him here. So big thank you’s to all who helped us get him here, especially Nikki and Dave and my parents. You will now go to Heaven. I found out today, so you are psyched.

Oh yeah. I got a sunburn today on my bald spot. That kinda sucks but is funny too.