Friday, September 12th, we adopted a beautiful, eight week old, female AKC Boxer, we named Belle, into our family. Our first vet visit went extremely well and our 12.2 pound baby girl was fit as a fiddle. In three weeks she was already up to 17 pounds.

A typical Cash & Belle snuggle moment.

After a lot of thought and research, we finally felt it was time to find Cash a new companion… A decision we’ll never regret. Belle has lit a new fire in Cash as he finds his second puppyhood. It’s pretty amazing to watch the two of them together. With Cash at 11 1/2 years old, we weren’t sure how he’d adapt. For the most part, it’s been the best thing we could have done for him. We make sure he gets his share of attention and slowly introduce changes but for the most part we are keeping his routine the same as it’s been. The most notable, positive change is that he sleeps a whole lot less and Belle makes sure he’s getting a lot more exercise.

Now, it’s been a little over a month of joy and challenges getting used to our newest family member. Crate training and potty training are both going well. She responds to her name, fetches, is starting to sit for treats and loves to explore the yard. If we could only curb her fondness for pulling down all the pillows from the furniture, we’d be set.

Belle loves her big brother, Cash and is trying desperately to make friends with Collins (our cat) but that’s taking more time. Collins is suddenly more needy and has no trouble expressing his jealousy and annoyance if he’s not getting all the attention he thinks he deserves.

I’ve been so busy with Belle, it’s taken me this long to finally get a moment to post these pictures of her. I try to keep my camera close because she’s growing so fast. Here’s a selection of pictures from our first meeting to the present.

My first meeting with Belle.

Cash and Belle’s first meeting.

Nap Time.

A budding friendship.

Belle, AKC female Boxer at 8 weeks.

Who could resist that face?

Someone To Watch Over Me. Cash & Belle.

Just a little stair crazy.

Belle

Looking for her brother.

Belle the Explorer.

Cash & Belle: Best Friends.