In other news, Diego reaches 2 pounds today.

Back to our regularly scheduled garden news tomorrow, I promise. I really do have baby tomato plants!

Diego, the Explorer

One of the few times he sat still today. That tail is moving though!

Whoa -- what's this under here? Can I eat it? (Once he was under the chair, he sat up -- he didn't have to crawl under on his belly.)

Hi Mom! Hi Mom! Hi Mom! Hi Mom! (each Hi accompanied by a jump)

I know he's around here somewhere -- I need to hide!

[Note: Sorry for the blurry photos -- neither of them would stand still. Diego is so excited to just be, and Chelsea is trying very hard to stay out of his way. Perpetual motion these days!]

I'd really forgotten what having a new puppy was like. Chelsea was a puppy 13 years ago, and she was so very, very good. Diego is a totally different story -- he's a little terror! Must be the Chihuahua blood ... And he isn't really a terror. He's very much the fearless explorer. He wanders all over the apartment, and he discovers new things at every turn. This morning I caught him chewing on all of the following: a bead, a little clump of Chelsea's fur that she pulled out while scratching, a tiny piece of rubber that must have bounced off the table when I mounted stamps the other day, the label sheet to a set of stamps that I've been looking for (who knows where he found that), a piece of pine straw that must have come in on Chelsea's fur, an ancient treat that was under a living room chair (he fits under there quite well, almost without crouching down), a strand of yarn from the skein hanging off the back of my desk chair (that I didn't think he could reach), a corner of the blanket covering the back of his play crate, the potty pads in the bathroom, a piece of dog litter from the box he doesn't use, a strand of carpet fiber, the corner of Chelsea's steps, my socks (my fault for leaving them out). And when he was very quiet and I couldn't find him, I called him, only to find him right at my feet chewing on the strap of the clog I was wearing. He had quite a busy day, and now he's sleeping soundly at my feet under my desk, right where Doodlebug used to sleep and where Chelsea had been sleeping. She's cowering under the dining room chair in the corner.

Chelsea absolutely hates him. He's tiny and very quick, and he absolutely adores her. Whenever he catches sight of her (which isn't often because she stays very far away from him), he gets all quivery and waggy-tailed and darts toward her. She immediately jumps up on whatever surface is closest, which has made for some interesting moves this week. She ended up on my desk chair yesterday, and then fell off of it when it swiveled. She's been limping a little today and hesitant to jump, so now she's started barking her head off whenever Diego gets close. She truly doesn't like him, which surprises me a little, and disappoints me, too. I really wanted him to be fun for her as well as fun for me. Maybe one of these days she'll at least tolerate him and will forgive me for bringing him home. She hasn't slept with me since last Friday. She won't kiss me. She doesn't look at me if she can help it. And the only time I can pet her is when he's securely locked in his sleeping crate and far away from her. I knew he would rock her world, I just didn't realize he would devastate it.

Anyway, here are his vitals -- he was 10 weeks and a day old when he went to our vet for the first time. He had his first vaccination on Tuesday, and he weighs 1.8 pounds. Our vet was very impressed with his lines and thinks he could be a champion show dog. I'm not interested in showing him; nor am I interested in breeding him. He'll be neutered at the first available opportunity, although the vet wants to wait until all of his adult teeth are in so that he can pull any remaining puppy teeth if necessary. He doesn't want to have him under anesthesia any more than necessary because of his size. He'll top out at about 5 pounds when he's fully grown. He was also dewormed again, and I have a tiny heartworm pill to give him on the 10th of this month, provided he weighs 2 pounds by then. I can check his weight on my kitchen scale. We visited some of the apartment office staff yesterday, and he was exhausted by our outing. We've been staying inside because of his lack of immunity. I can't put him down outside until he has two more parvo/distemper shots. Because we live in an apartment complex that allows pets, there are quite a few dogs here and the vet is concerned that he'll pick up something from feces or vomit on the ground. There's plenty of both, even though we're supposed to clean up after out pets. I know, TMI.

I love him so much already. He's so very sweet, and so very mischievous, and so very comical -- everything I wanted in a puppy!