Dylan's World is Shrinking

Today Dee Dee is 14 weeks old. So since we've adopted her she has doubled her age, more than doubled her weight, lost almost half her baby teeth, and has gotten noticeably taller. We don't know exactly how much taller as we failed to measure her when we first got her but just look at these two pictures taken about 5 weeks apart.

There's no question our little girl is growing up. But this past week a life changing event happened, well, at least for Dylan.

Dee Dee mastered jumping on and off the sofa in the salon. So now Dylan is down one safe haven from his most irritating crew mate.

 

Fortunately, she is still unable to master the 4 steep steps going between the salon and pilothouse which allows him to still escape up or down when she becomes too much.

And when we are underway, the pilothouse settee is too high so she must be content with the step below. But let's be honest. At this rate she'll be mastering both of those in no time. Sorry, Dylan.

You might wonder why this matters to our sweet boy Dylan. Well, trust us there's a devil in that little girl. Oh, we know she looks sweet. She's a huge draw on the docks as other boaters coo and she puts on quite a cute puppy show. But we have proof. Tell me you don't see the devil in those eyes.

 

Poor Dylan...

Finally Underway!

The Erie Canal finally opened on Wednesday morning. We decided to wait until Friday to leave Shady Harbor Marina to let the logjam of boats move on ahead. We are planning on lingering in the canal for almost a month so didn't feel any need to hurry.

On Friday morning Dee Dee prepared for her first real cruising day. She'd been "underway" only between our slip and the fuel dock. On Thursday evening we moved to the fuel dock to be pumped out and ready to leave early the next morning before the marina opened. Friday would be a 20 mile cruise with one major locking taking about 4 hours.

I tried and failed to mimic Dylan's award winning photo from 2007 (see Dylan's photo here). It was the fault of the light and the photographer rather than the puppy. But I still think she looks pretty nautical.

Dylan settled in like the old pro that he is with over 8,000 nautical miles under his harness.

Dee Dee took it all in stride. The day was bloody hot, so Dee Dee sought out the cool spot. First she tried the settee.

Then she tried the step just just below the settee. What's that cardboard enclosure, you ask? It's a Dee Dee barrier around her daddy's computer cords which are very appealing to a puppy.

Dylan showed her how to schmooze daddy while he ate his breakfast underway.

Then she took up Dylan's favorite spot at the helm under her daddy's feet.

She did a terrific job helping daddy do the first engine room check. If you look closely you can see the engine room hatch opened along the right side.

As the day grew hotter she moved outside choosing one of Dyna's favorite spots, legs out, belly on the cool deck.

But of course there was much going on in the pilothouse requiring occasional inspection.

We pulled into Waterford, NY before noon, found 50 amp power, and turned on the AC for our hardworking crew. Dee Dee took a well deserved nap, after all, being a crew member is hard work.

Following an additional day at Waterford, we'll leave on Sunday starting across the Erie Canal through the Flight of Locks, a series of 5 locks that will bring us up 170 feet, plus an additional 4 locks to bring us to Amsterdam, NY. It will be a long day. Thankfully, the heatwave has finally broken.

We look forward to new places, new people, and new experiences. With a crew like this, we're ready for some adventure.

Let the Games Begin

Years ago I learned a trick from my sister-in-law about how to keep small children occupied. She would rotate their toys. She'd take some, put them away, bring out others for a time, and then go back to ones from before. It was interesting to see how bringing out an "old" toy they hadn't seen in a bit made it new and interesting. I've found the same trick works very well with puppies.

We have a small hassock onboard that long ago became a storage place for dog toys. These past few weeks I have been digging into the hassock to rotate around a toy or two every few days. It's helped to keep Dee Dee's very short attention span occupied.

One of the toys she particularly likes is an old Nylabone left from Dylan's younger years. He lost interest years ago and it fell to the bottom of the hassock. At least, until now.

It seems that Dee Dee's new found interest in this toy has made it Dylan's favorite. You see, he can be a brat sometimes too.

So he sneaks into her crate and grabs it jumping up on the settee where she cannot yet reach him. Then the games begin.

First, she notices.

 Then she wants it.

She makes her move.

Dylan counters.

She goes in again.

Another dodge by Dylan.

She plays it coy.

Ultimately, the puppy always wins.

Hey, We Have a Puppy...

Many of you have been asking for more pictures of "the puppy." It's not that we haven't been taking dozens (hundreds?). It's just that she's been keeping us busy!

The aCappella crew is still "stuck" at Shady Harbor Marina waiting for the Erie Canal to open. It was scheduled to do just that early last week when Mother Nature threw another storm at the canal pouring down inches of rain on the already soaked towns. We've seen pictures of the destruction at some of the towns along the Erie Canal. So we're certainly not complaining about being stuck at a lovely marina with a nice restaurant and bar, swimming pool, Adirondack chairs under shady trees, and lots of other boaters to share docktails, potlucks, and boating stories. If we get bored, we can always watch the debris float by on the river.

It has allowed us to develop a routine for our latest crew addition, who slept until 6:30 the past two mornings! Training her is proving to be fairly easy as she is "food motivated." Seriously! She makes Dylan look like a picky toddler. She literally tries to climb the galley cabinets when her food is being prepared. Have a treat in your hand? You don't even have to say "sit."

When the food is gone she climbs into the dish forcing us to take up the water dish. Yes, she stands in the water dish and scratches at the food dish or stands in the food dish and splashes in the water dish. She's even taken to sleeping beside her food dish. I guess in case we sneak food in while she's asleep...

She's already added 50% (6 pounds) to her weight and is well on her way to becoming a full fledged member of the crew. She's still working things out with Dylan who is finally showing a bit of teeth when she goes too far. But then he comes back for more, as does she.

In another few weeks she will start losing those sharp baby teeth as well as gain more weight and height. She's already bonding with the Frisbee.

Dylan will have a new playmate in no time. We think maybe we'll keep her. What do you say, Dylan?

Sugar and Spice...

There is definitely a bit of sugar and spice in our little girl but everything nice? Not so much.

Dee Dee has taken over aCappella and keeps the rest of the crew on their toes 24/7. She can go from a cuddly, sweet girl to a raging monster faster than a Ferrari can go from 0 to 60. Everything goes in the mouth including Dylan's tender ears and we're pretty sure she has a file hidden in her crate where she makes those sharp puppy teeth even sharper.

Then just as we're about to unfurl the "Free Puppy Available" burgee she collapses in a heap and falls sound asleep exhaling that sweet puppy breath. I think there's something mind altering in that puppy breath - makes you forget it all and go, "Ahhhhh!" Mother nature at her best.

Dylan has finally accepted that she's staying and even enjoys a good tussle when she's awake. Of course, it helps that he can jump up on the settee or run up the pilothouse steps when her biting becomes too much. Won't he be surprised when she learns to climb and jump to follow him.

Dylan is Dee Dee's idol and she wants to follow him everywhere just like a little sister would.  For now he really is top dog in her eyes. Even though Dylan could flatten her with one paw (and probably considers it now and then) he is quite gentle with her and has even started letting her cuddle with him. There have certainly been a lot of adjustments for our boy these past few months. So Mommy has been far more lenient with the treats lately.

For now we are waiting at Shady Harbor Marina for the final lock to be repaired on the Erie Canal. It has given Dee Dee a chance to work on her sea-legs. If you're in the area stop by. We're the DeFever with the arch folded down at the end of the dock. We're hard to miss just follow the sound of "Dee Dee, no!"

What?

 

I'm going for a ride!

I saw Mommy get out the bag of car stuff. See I mainly live on my boat but sometimes we drive places by car. I like it best when it's my white Subaru but most times Mommy goes off somewhere and comes back with some strange car. I don't know where they come from. Maybe she steals them.

We leave very early in the morning and for the first time I have the whole backseat to myself. Dyna always used to hog most of the backseat. I'd have to look at Mommy real pitiful and she'd make her move over so I could lie down. Boy, I wouldn't complain a bit if she were here to hog the backseat again...

 

So we finally stop and we're at Lucerne Veterinary Hospital. Wow, I love this place! I know most dogs hate the vet, maybe they don't have Chris and Stephanie as their vets. Sure, sometimes they stick me and it hurts a little or examine someplace I'd rather they didn't. But mostly they coo and tell me I'm cute and I almost always get a treat.

I can't believe it, JoDee is here too! I love JoDee because she loves dogs. She has a few puppies with her getting their wellness check. I like puppies. I remember last year about this time Dyna and I came here and JoDee had a whole van full of puppies, I think about a hundred. They got checked out and then JoDee played with us. It was great. This is going to be fun.

There's one puppy that Mommy and Daddy keep fussing over and calling Dee Dee. They're telling her how cute she is. I was pretty darn cute at that age too. In fact, my puppy picture won a 1st place prize in a contest. Can Dee Dee claim that?

 

Dylan, July 2007

What? Why did they put this Dee Dee character in our car? Maybe JoDee is going to drive back to our house and then I'll play with all of the puppies in the back yard. JoDee sometimes comes to my house and often has other dogs with her that I can play with. I remember once she brought my litter-mate Jewels to play with. It was fun but she pushed me around a bit and was kind of bossy. Come to think of it, so was Dyna. Maybe it's a female thing. This will still be fun.

Well, we've been here at the house for quite a while and JoDee still hasn't come to get the puppy. I wonder if she got lost. Maybe we should go find her.

Mommy and Daddy have put up a crate that's just like the one I used when I was just a puppy and they brought me home for good. They don't seem to be worried that JoDee hasn't come...

Wait a minute. Is this puppy staying? There's a bag of puppy food on the counter, some new puppy toys on the floor, hmmm. I wonder if we're going to take her back to the boat with us. I've got lots of new things to show her there. It will be nice to have someone to cuddle with in the backseat and when Mommy and Daddy are gone. I guess she can stay but I'm absolutely not letting her have any of my food!

Introducing the latest aCappella crew member:

Dynasty's Delight

Dee Dee

Kismet, Serendipity, Fate...

Does it matter what we call it?

Towards the end of April I received an email from JoDee with a picture of a minutes-old puppy. I had no idea there was a litter coming. JoDee and I had been talking frequently about Dyna but she had never mentioned it. So I called to find out what's up.

It seems she had bred Keeper, Dyna's great-great-granddaughter, with Sarge, Dyna's great-grandson but thought it didn't "take." I know a lot about dogs but not about the breeding of them and I didn't ask for details. A week or so earlier JoDee thought Keeper was putting on some weight and low and behold she was - puppies. So now there were 3 adorable puppies with a piece of Dyna on both sides.

Three weeks later our precious Dyna crossed over to become queen of that huge dog park with never ending bowls of meat (her favorite) and cool breezes (also her favorite). We were left with a big hole in our heart and down an important crew member.

So one day JoDee said, "I don't want to push you but I want you to know I'll keep the yellow female for you if you want." Those of us who have had the privilege of loving many dogs know one can never replace another. But we also know that the love we have to share grows with each one. I knew I could love another puppy. In the past, Jeff has taken longer.

So I waited a few days until we had finished dinner and were relaxing over a glass of wine and I mentioned my conversation with JoDee. Jeff responded with tears in his eyes, "I discussed it with Dyna her last night. I already have a name."

The picture above is from the "puppy cam" that JoDee setup for us. We can watch from our cell phones and many times a day one of us says, "Time to check on the puppies!"

So we leave early Wednesday morning to drive to Lucerne Veterinary Hospital, home of the two best vets in the entire world, where the puppies will receive their final wellness check. We have a folding crate and puppy food and chew toys being delivered to our house in Maine. A few days there and then back to the boat to continue our new adventure.

Don't tell Dylan. It's a surprise birthday gift. And I think he'll be pretty surprised...

Top Dog

We wish to thank everyone for their many kind emails, comments, and even personal visits to express your sympathy and thoughts about our loss of Dyna. It has been a melancholy time. Many have asked about how Dylan is doing. It has certainly been a loss for him as well.  He was with her when she passed and seemed to understand. But he has lost a companion and mentor and is in some ways alone for the first time.

So we have been settling into new routines for all of us.

We spent nearly a week in DC, taking Dylan on long walks through the city that used to be home for us. The Capital Yacht Club was the perfect location to explore. Dylan visited many of the memorials with large groups of visiting school children happily giving him a pat. If you have a chance to do this trip don't hesitate. The cruise along the Potomac River in beautiful and the Capital Yacht Club is in the middle of it all.

We've enjoyed several nights at anchor, something we've done little of lately. Dylan was spoiled rotten by Linda and Kathy in the Washburns Boat Yard office in Solomons, Maryland while aCappella received some routine maintenance. Of course, they did take some humiliating funny hat pictures which may have scarred Dylan's psyche. Then they threw him a few treats and all was good. His niece Mellow was also in Solomons along with her people, Trudy and Ken. Dylan and Mellow enjoyed daily romps and were even invited to a docktail party one evening.

We spent several days at Annapolis. A place we had visited many times by land but this was the first time by water. We're now hunkered in at South Jersey Marina in Cape May, New Jersey waiting for a front to pass so we can transit the New Jersey shore to New York. It's giving us a chance to explore the charming town of Cape May.

There are more new adventures ahead as we spend the next year visiting all new destinations. At every stop we will think of Dyna who was always up for something new. Dylan will miss her as he looked to her for confidence in new situations.

For the first time ever Dylan is now top dog. At least for now...