CLEO

Cleo

Ah, where do I start with my Cleo - or Cleopatra as she's affectionately called - the idea of adding another dog to the family was borne out of giving Max a friend to play and socialise with. 

So when he was about 6 months old, we heard through a friend that puppies from a Jack Russell litter were looking for homes - we had already decided by then that we wanted a little girl - so when the pups were ready, Chris went off to select our new addition. He phoned shortly after to say that the whole litter was black and white in colour - except for one little mite that was white and tan. We agreed to take her as she had the same colouring as Max. Little did I know how cute she was going to be...

Cutest puppy yawn, ever!

There's only a 6 month age gap between Max and Cleo. - she had such a teddybear face as a pup. 

Having had Max for a few months by then, we felt relatively comfortable adding Cleo to the family - if anything it prolonged the sweet puppy smell and puppy breath stage for a bit longer. We followed the same steps as we did with Max, i.e. taking her for walks (but this time we both had a walking partner to guide and train), having her fixed and also going for drives in the car - I did end up with puppy vomit on my lap from time-to-time but she grew out of it, shew!

When we took her for her first set of injections at our then family vet in Hillcrest, he very politely informed us that even though she was very cute she'd never win any beauty contests We were like, 'hey?'. He went on to inform us that she had a serious underbite (at that stage it was completely invisible to the eye) and we'd have to monitor the situation in case it caused any difficulty for her with regards to eating food. We dodged a bullet there as she has never had any issues eating (or should I say guzzling?) her food. In fact she's the only dog I have ever heard burp, with alarming regularity might I add, mid-meal and then carry on eating as if nothing had happened. 

Showing off her underbite!

She may not be a looker but she sure has a personality!

Cleo and Max have been firm friends from day one - bless them - if anything she is more independent than him in the sense that she likes to chill on her own - probably getting up to mischief - when she wants it, she actively seeks out a cuddle as opposed to Max (and later Justin too) who is constantly underfoot. Luckily no major chewing incidents either, well except for her chewing Dyl's ID book when he and Andy puppy / house sat for us when we were on holiday in the UK but apart from that no problems whatsoever! 

Nothing better than a cuddle!

Muddy face and paws!​

She loves nothing more than going for a walk, I remember once we were walking along the promenade and she caught her paw pad on something and was bleeding but she stoically carried on until I saw the blood - then she was carried the rest of the way - she's such a little trooper who is as fit as can be.. If there is one thing more than a walk that she loves, it's having her tummy and back scratched, with one leg shaking all the time as she is being scratched! 

She is also often found leading the pack, as they charge to the front door when Chris arrives home from work; or if there is any noise of some sort from outside - she's the first to go look-see and investigate - my brave little girl.  

I do love her so much, underbite and all!

Until next time, 

​Rev