This week has been exiting. We have been spending the week on the road while driving around the region first to visit University and at the end of the week visiting Dinacon kennel to see whippet puppies.
Votes for women!
Finnish parliament election is happening this week. At first we were supposed to vote earlier during the week but we ended up voting during the official election day, Sunday. The feeling was eloquent as the voting place was in the city hall with shiny wooden flooring and high ceiling. Lately we have been thinking about the importance of voting. Finland was the first European country to give voting rights for women our family admires the people who made that happen. We are grateful for our right to vote and the best way to thank is to go and give our votes now almost a century afterwards. Even thought it might not be much but it’s still a way to make a change. Things don’t necessarily happen right away, but even small steps take things forward. Many things are changing in Finland. Our sympathies lie with the Finnish Green party as the most important things for us are the environment issues and equality. They also have great ideas on improving the current economy structure which for us as unemployed millennials with a creative career is extremely important.
Pets are family
Dog has been our long time dream right from the start. We have been speaking about getting new friend on and off the last eight years. Our families have had dogs and we are pet persons through and through. Iida used to have rats and last two, Lille and Piitu, even lived in this apartment . Sadly their lives are so short that right when you get to know them well, they continue their journey towards “better food plates”. As we got married last summer and both of us graduated from school last year we felt that our life situation is now ready for a new family member.
We have started looking for breeds long time and after some thought we zeroed our information hunting to whippets. The breed was familiar to Janina and the size and nature of the breed were points that got us interested also. Big thing for us was how sight hound breeds have been around long time and are mostly healthy breeds and have well working physique. I love the idea that whippets are gentle and somewhat relaxed indoors, but still very much hunting breed with spirit and spark.
We visited Dinaco kennel after we were invited to see their February born M-litter. Puppies were all precious and bitch looked content and happy if somewhat tired and wrung out. No wonder thought, it was her first litter and there was total of eight puppies, already seven and half weeks old. We chatted with bitch’s owner Marjo three hours and the feeling we got was happy and positive. It was nice to meet young woman so dedicated into her dogs welfare and ready to tell all the good and bad things she has experienced with the breed. That kind of open discussion is big plus and feeds the healthy possible relationship between kennel and the future homes of puppies.
Charlie, Charlie, come to home
After sleeping over night we were happy to make an agreement for buying puppy from Marjo. It was lovely to see how the owner seemed to deem us as a good match for the little boy named Charlie (kennel name Dinacon Fade to black, as the M-litter was named after Metallica. How cool is that?). In this I’m happy to trust the owner as she has seen the temperaments of the puppies as the babies have grown. Charlie will be our first own dog and naturally we’re bit nervous but we know we have a good safety net between our friends, family and kennel for the parts that might need more figuring out.
So, we are getting a dog! At last and after long time dreaming! It’s wonderful to think Charlie will be part of our life long time to come if everything goes well. In my mind getting a pet is always bittersweet as we know their lives will end someday and often before us. That gives me strong need to ensure their welfare and happiness so that I can someday help they lay down with clear head, content heart and without big regrets.
Charlie will come to it’s new home at the first of may and that gives us two weeks to make the apartment puppy safe. Thankfully there’s not much to do, mainly sorting few clutter spots in the living room and figure out some safety measures for few electric cords. Then there’s bed and toy crafting, crate buying and otherwise talking about practices. We are so exited and happy and look forward to bonding time with the new puppy and learning to know him. We’ll have good three weeks to spend at home first to establish day rhythm. Later in May we’ll make a first trip to the cottage after the winter and all three of us can sniff coming summer from a lake shore.
We’ll write more dog news in the future. Beware!
Cheers,
Iida
P.s. The election was good as the Green party gained fife new MPs, fifteen totally!
