Incredible Journey 2, Doggie Daycare, and Glaciers

After an incredibly long day of anxious waiting, we finally picked our animals up at the airport. The airport scene was chaos so very few pictures were taken there. After a short ride home, Fern was instantly back to her favorite activities:

PLAYING (with her new cow toy - yes Daddy Mark, it squeaks, and we will bring it home for Christmas!)


and BEGGING (learning how to beg Alaska style)


The cats were also soon back to their normal activities: Girl Girl hiding (look UNDER the table) and Vader lounging on HIS furniture.


They wasted no time getting some love!


We missed them so much, and we are so grateful to everyone who helped take care of them and get them back to us!

Since Fern has gotten here, she hasn't wanted to spend much time outside. It's really too cold for her, and she doesn't have anyone to play with during the day! So.... against Mike's wishes, we started exploring doggie daycares. We were soon to discover that there are waiting lists at the 'good' doggie daycares in town. However, Arctic Tails told us that although there was a waiting list, we could come in for an 'evaluation' to see if Fern would fit in well. OH MY... So, one day last week, after work, I loaded Fern up in the car and drove her to Arctic Tails. I should have known it would not go well when I had to PUSH her through the door! She acted like an idiot! She would not play with another dog, sniff another dog, would not even look at another dog! She tucked her tail and rolled her eyes all around. She also had what I call 'tense lips'. If you've ever had a Boxer - you know what I mean! The owner of the daycare threw some toys for her, and Fern pretended she didn't see them. A little pug ran up to play, and Fern started trembling! Like I said, it did not go well. So they told us they would 'see if they had room' and call us. So, I guess they felt sorry for us, and our 'single layer coat' dog, and they called to offer her a Monday space. So, we get to go on Monday, and I'm assuming if her behavior improves she can come other days as well!

We spent a lot of time over the weekend talking about daycare and about all the fun she would have playing with other dogs. Monday morning, I saw this, and knew things might not go so well....


We talked, we sang "Good Morning to You", we even scratched her back... but she would not get up! So, finally a big push from Mike:


The push prompted this, and after the final stretch, she was out of bed:

On our way to doggie daycare, Fern got to see her very first moose! There are actually 2 moose, a baby on the left and mom on the right. Fern growled very quietly, but she had her nervous eyes on!


Well I've been trying to post this for over 12 hours and blogger won't let me post any more photos - so more to come when it cooperates! By the way, it's 26 degrees this morning!