Livin' La Vida Mia: And Puppy Makes 3!

At long last we have become a family of 3! Meet our newest furry addition - Semilla Maya, our little Mayan Seed. She's Mia for short & boy oh boy, she sure is sweet!

Before we share with you the entire story, we must first thank you for taking the time to type in that annoying little password to access our blog. Unfortunately Mia is the main reason we had to go private, but we (& hopefully you too) think she's worth it!

*Just a tip - if you make yourself a Blogger account you can add us to your dashboard list of favorite sites and then you will only have to type in the password 1 time ever. Just drop me a note and I'll officially "invite" you. Now that the house keeping is taken care of, take a peek!

Meet Mia

Most of you probably know that we have been dying for a dog for as long as we both can remember, but due to our previous living conditions (albeit great, it was a little apartment with no outdoor space) we just didn't feel right about bringing home a big dog, which is what we knew we wanted. Ben grew up with a black lab, Blackie, that was this faithful friend for 17 years and he has always wanted another one. As much as I love the little schnauzer boys (Toby 1st and now Riley) that are part of the Finotti Family, I always pictured myself with a big fluffy golden. So a while back we decided that a golden is what we would get. Multiple birthdays have passed, each with a card of a cute golden pup on the front and a promise that as soon as we could she'd become mine, until finally the time was right.

We began asking around and soon came across a litter right here in Antigua. During our first visit we were able to meet the mom, Beba, and the dad, Ceviche, and all 10 of their pups. But at that time they were only 2 weeks old and didn't really have personalities. A couple of weeks later we returned and were please to find that all of the pups were healthy, bouncy and ready for their new homes. So our plans quickly got pushed into high-gear and by Saturday afternoon we were driving home with one of the littlest girlies on my lap! We had no idea which one would become ours, but we had 7 embras (females) to chose from. Sweet Mia showed interest in Ben and played it a bit shyer than some of her more rambunctious brothers and sisters. And when I noticed that she had adorable white markings above her eyes (like eyeshadow) I knew she was our girl. We later learned that she had a special bond with the owner's husband. In fact, as Mia licked his face goodbye, his wife looked on with tears in her eyes.

We've just had her for a day and a half and have already bonded and learned so much.

Birth date: August 17th, 2009 (just less than a week before our 5th anniversary)
Birth order: Unfortunately we don't know, but she was 1 of the 2 smallest girls.
Favorite color: Fuchsia (I'm almost positive) - just like her collar.
Favorite food: Milk, but she's started to tolerate her Eukenueba puppy chow, soaked in milk.
Favorite toy: Her hackey sack ball - just the right size for her little teeth
Favorite position: She is completely relaxed when we hold her like a baby on her back.
Disposition: Playful yet calm. She gravitates toward people, especially kids.
Secret hiding place: Curled up in my sweats on the bottom shelf of our closet.
Big Brother: Don Akira, Dani's black lab.

brothers & sisters