Rain Mountain Legacy Litter May, 2005

May 19, 2005
The Rain Mountain Legacy Litter
UWP Grand Ch. PR Rain Mountain Tonasket Thunder CGC HCT
x Grand Ch. PR Rain Mountain Kutaan Taaku of Bear Creek

(Caution -- Many of these are high resolution photos best viewed with a broadband connection)

July 7th Update:
The babies are now "kids" and are rockin' and rollin' around the house and yard. They have been away from home for visits and even ventured away for the weekend over 4th of July. Taaku has long since given up nursing them They have sharp teeth! But her paws have been filled by "Auntie" Lolo who babysits them with love. She spends a great deal of time playing with them, eating with them, and letting them curl up to her for a warm snooze. When Lolo was in New England with Carie for the Chinook National Specialty, Carie's "Auntie" Hyak stayed here with me and tried quite hard to be a good babysitter.

Alan hides under the cabinet on the patio for an afternoon nap on a hot day	Alan is half hid dad and half his mom. He has Thunder's blocky head and Taaku's dark masking and eyebrows though you can see lighter colors beginning to appear around his eyes.	The pups will take advantage of any chance they can to grab a slurp though Taaku is no longer too enamoured of nursing the sharp toothed sharks in puppy clothing (photo by Kathy DeBellis)
Auntie Hyak is very patient with the babies	I could easily mistake this photo of Dan napping for one of Thunder as a baby.	Dan complains about us stiffling his urge to explore though in actuality it was the only safe way for Holly to enjoy her bone.
	Left and right, the boys meet their namesakes. And by boys, I mean Dan Frey DVM on the left with Big Dan the puppy and Alan Marsh DVM on the right with Alan the puppy. I've known for many years the skill Dan Frey has with c-sections and pediatrics but this was the first time I got to see Alan Marsh in action working to revive a new born baby and he know has a place in my heart along with Dr. Dan. Naming the boys after them was the least I could do. I'm still waiting to get the photos back of Mary the puppy with her namesake Mary Baker, on whose birthday Mary (canine) was born. Trust me, both of them are cute and both have the same dark brown eyes.
The photos below were kindly provided by Kathy Smith and Kay Lee Brown. They were taken on 4th of July when the pups, the big dogs, and I were hiding out from excessive fireworks around my house in Washougal at the home of Susan Fletcher and Marian Brennan (Frontier Chinooks). The pups had a blast romping over their five acres of woods, exploring the bushes, investigating the chicken coop, and discovering mud puddles.
Alan checks out the grass in hopes of finding the mouse he thinks is hiding there	Puppies eat dirt. Sometimes I think it's a mainstay of their diet.	Always the explorer, Alan leads Forest into the underbrush
Above, Forest and the pups are all in one place at one time. Most of the day, they were all moving so fast that we couldn't capture all of them in the lens of the camera at the same time. Right, Alan should be known as "Trucker" perhaps as his movement is powerful and reminds me of a train coming at me.		The boys pick on their sister, who is very capable of holding her own, not to mention dishing it out as well
Alan shows off his big boned build.	For some reason, this litter is very intent on pulling each other's tails	As Dan bounds into the clearing, Alan gets ready to leap on him.
After a wild wrestling match Mary (above) and Dan (below) are happy to nap	Pink collar aside, there is no mistaking that Mary is a girl as she is just as big as her brothers but very feminine	Savannah tries to cuddle a rowdy Alan
Mary loves Savannah already and I'm sure the mutual admiration will continue once Mary joins the Smith family full time	Mary is getting to be an armful for Savannah	Alan has his mom's white chin despite his dark mask

June 24th Update:
The Legacy litter are growing like weeds. Every day is a new adventure and their world gets bigger. At five weeks old, they are now out of the whelping box and thanks to the mild early summer weather, living in the family room and backyard. Most of the time they are free to run in and out the back door at will. They have explored but not yet reached the far corners of the yard and kennel. Considering the kitchen and bathrooms are being remodeled, they are hearing the sounds of power tools and pipes clanking. Last weekend was full of visitors. Kathy Smith brought Savannah, who turned 5 the day the pups were born, and Forest, who's just finished second grade, to meet them. Mary will go home with them to Portland, Oregon when she's old enough. It was truly love at first sight between the kids and the pups and Kathy is well loved too after bringing up a cooler of food that fed all of us and my construction crew of Chad Peterson, my roommate of many years, and Russ Johns, another former resident of the Hotel Corley Guest Suite. Chad came over from eastern Washington to take on the job. Having Chad back here has been wonderful in itself, even without all the work he's been doing. Holly has been so happy to see him that she's following him everywhere and barking at all the activity, smiling all the while. She loves the visitors too and the kids gave her as many hugs as the pups. The DeBellis family also stopped by on Father's Day to say hello to the babies. They are hoping to get a pup from a litter later this summer. Many thanks to Kathy and the kids for the photos below.


Left to right: Alan awake, Alan moments later dead asleep on the hard brick of the dog kennel, and Alan being cuddled by Forest Smith
Forest snuggles with Mary while his little sister Savannah chats with Alan	There is nothing more peaceful than a sleeping pup	The brick was nice and cool for napping on a hot and humid afternoon Alan on left, Big Dan on right
Savannah had one or more pups in her arms all afternoon and the pups loved every minute of it. Here she cuddles with Big Dan.
	Big Dan shows off his beautiful head
Even when the pups were out cold, Forest didn't want to leave their side.		Savannah and Big Dan
	Even active Mary finally gave in and fell asleep	There is nothing more peaceful than a sleeping pup