We were lucky enough to welcome Eustace into our family last night! He’s about 10 weeks old, super tiny, snuggly, and full of energy! We think he is a mix of Chihuahua, Terrier, Pomeranian, and Pekingese… but 100% adorable! 

Charlie is being super great with him, sharing her toys & bones, teaching him how to walk on a leash & dig holes, and she’s as exhausted as I am!

Eustace slept on Allen’s pillow last night, so he didn’t get much sleep either! 

We got his name from the show “Mountain Men”… We never have cable, and maybe got too excited about this show… 

We’ve been wanting to get another puppy ever since we had to leave little Rebel behind in Oklahoma City… Charlie missed him. We missed him.

But we’ve been moving around so much, it’s been hard to really find the time or places to look into adopting.

**Charlie needs a brother!***

Since we’ve been down here to Tampa with Allen’s new job, we’ve both been checking Craigslist and local shelters. I would absolutely love to adopt from a shelter. I think it’s the best thing you can do. But being that we live and travel in an RV full time, we needed another small breed dog, and sadly, most of the dogs and puppies in shelters are larger breeds, more often than not some sort of pit bull mix. If we had a house with a big yard, I’d take one of those in a heartbeat… So when we turned to Craigslist, we were looking for just a small mixed breed puppy. Not necessarily as young as Eustace, but not as old as Charlie (she’s 3). I called and emailed about quite a few, but there are a lot of puppy mills out there, and people breeding dogs for the money with no care at all to their health or well being.

When we came across Charlie in March 2013, we were in Columbus, Georgia at Lake Pines RV Park. It’s near the Fort Benning Army base. We looked on Craigslist and as soon as we saw her picture we knew she was the one. I think “rehoming” fees were just starting to become a thing then, and the family who was giving her away was asking $40. They were an Army family, being stationed somewhere else, and couldn’t take Charlie with them. She came with a gigantic bag of dog food, her food & water bowls (which she still has), collar, leash, a bed and 2 toys (she still has those too). She was about 8 months old, healthy despite having never been to the vet or had any shots. She was brand new with the outside world, barked at every leaf or blade of grass that blew, every new person she saw, would cry every night when the train went by at 3am… But within about a week, she was walking around the campground and even made a couple little doggie friends before we left there at the end of the month. We took her to the vet within 3 weeks of having her and got all of her vaccines and had her spayed. (That trip to Panama City Beach wasn’t too much fun for her, poor girl!)

When we saw Eustace (that wasn’t his name of course) in an ad on Craigslist yesterday, I had my fingers crossed, but my hopes weren’t too high due to our recent experiences with puppies online in Tampa! The lady who had him said I could call her and when I did she actually sounded like a good person, who really wanted to find a good home for him, not just someone looking to make a quick buck at the expense of a poor little puppy. We went to her house last night & absolutely fell in love with him! He fell asleep on the way home, as soon as we hit the highway.

Eustace was born on June 6th. That’s a meaningful date to me, because it was a big day for my brother Adam right before he passed away last year. So I felt like this was somehow meant to be… To seal the deal of it being fate and all that, on the way home, we saw a rainbow. Both sides of it. Then it was a double rainbow. I think that was a sign from Adam. It’s hard not to believe something like that.

For now, we are just all getting used to each other. I think Eustace is going to fit in just fine! I was thinking earlier this morning when he made me pick him up halfway through our walk, that I need a little backpack for him! But I only have one “back” and already have a pack for Charlie… He’s so small he would probably fit in a fanny pack!!! Maybe I could have Charlie wear one like this…?? JK! I definitely want to get him some of his own food bowls so he doesn’t have to use tupperware anymore! Maybe some like these:

And I’d like to try a harness with him vs. the collar we have now. Maybe he will like it a little better. Eustace is so tiny! Maybe 4 pounds at the most… And he’s still so clumsy. It melts my heart.

I want to get him to the vet for his shots, and I want to get him neutered sooner rather than later. (That’s confusing as well… what age is appropriate? Everyone I talk to says something different!) I’m hesitant to make an appointment just yet though because we don’t have much time left here. And of course we don’t have a clue where we are going next! I’m thinking for his first year, possibly going with a Wellness Plan from Banfield… That’s what I did for Charlie in year 2. They aren’t my absolute favorite, but they are everywhere, and since he will need boosters, and we move so much, I think that MAY be the best bet. They are a little outrageous, especially after being in Oklahoma City with all those horse people and learning that I can do most of the shots myself… But we are open to suggestions if you have any!

For now we will just be blending and bonding! And hopefully resting a little before our next move!