One puppy found a home. Another one found rejection. And someone just found a sock.

Wowow!

It’s me again — Muffin, full-time mother, part-time nose-cleaner, and occasional furniture accessory. The pups are now eight weeks old, and let me tell you — things are happening.

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Outing in the yard at 6 weeks old

^{Remus & Sirius}

^{Remus & Sirius}

^Luna

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Today, Remus left the nest.

A lovely couple came to visit, along with their adult daughter, who I’m told will also help care for him. (Very wise — raising Bolonkas is best done with a team.) They said they’d had dogs before — “Cavaliers”, whatever that means — and had learned about us Bolonkas from a friend’s family. Sadly, that kennel had closed up shop, which meant there were no local Bolonka options left. So naturally… they found me. And my pups. As one does.

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More outing in the yard at 6 weeks old

^{Leo is watching over us while I feed the puppies.}

^Luna

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After a bit of sniffing, petting, and deliberation, they settled on Remus. I must say — he handled it well. No yelping. No complaints. Just a happy sigh and a smug snuggle in their arms, as if to say, “Yes, these will do.” Honestly, I think he knew before they did. Typical.

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7 week portraits

^Bellatrix

^Luna

^Remus

^Severus

^Sirius

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I wasn’t sad. Well, maybe a little. But mostly proud. He was one of the curious ones — always sniffing out secrets and toys, and then hiding them again. I also suspect he was the one who stole Daddy’s wool socks this morning. Wool socks... how I love wool socks. When I was younger, I used to sneak into Leo and Miro’s closet, dig through their sock baskets, and pull out the wool socks from the bottom. Every time. The other socks? Scattered like casualties. But the wool socks? Always ended up on the sofa — my secret stash spot. I still don’t know how they always found them.

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Out in the yard again, now 7 weeks old

^{Ninnu, Sirius & Bellatrix}

^{Ninnu and Luna}

^{Sirius & Bellatrix}

^{Severus, Bellatrix, Luna and Ninnu}

^{Severus, Bellatrix and Ninnu}

The Sirius Situation

Now, about Sirius. Ah, my sweet, sprightly, slightly overconfident son.

^{Sirius and Ninnu}

You see, both the first and second visitors who came here originally wanted him. He’s got the charm, the charisma, the tail-wagging bravado. Very cute and lovable — not to mention his absolute adoration for all humans. But... then came the vet visit.

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Adventurer Luna

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Turns out, Sirius has a tiny overbite — or, more precisely, his bottom jaw hasn’t quite caught up. The humans say it’s mild, but it’s enough to make people second-guess. Suddenly, Mr. Popularity became... less so. The first family, after sleeping on it, changed their minds and picked Severus instead. The second family blinked a bit too much when the overbite was mentioned, and after being told who was already reserved, they chose Remus.

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Luna & Bellatrix

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That left Sirius. Still here. Still wagging. Still entirely unaware that dental symmetry has cast a shadow over his matchmaking prospects.

Honestly? It’s a little heartbreaking. And a little funny. Because he has no idea. He still charges around like he’s headlining a dog show, flashing those very same teeth that keep scaring off the adopters.

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A Mother Considers Her Options

So now I’m beginning to wonder...

^{Luna & Bellatrix}

Will we one day have to drop Sirius off at Grandpa’s place, casually forget the carrier in the hallway, and drive off humming like nothing happened? “Oh no, we left a puppy behind, what a terrible accident,” I’ll say three weeks later, as he lounges on the recliner with Grandpa feeding him sausages.

^Severus

It wouldn’t be the worst fate. Sirius has the makings of a retired bachelor dog, anyway. He enjoys attention, isn’t particularly bothered by being alone, and I suspect he’d take quite well to long afternoons watching TV from a lap.

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Remus & Luna

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But for now, he’s still here. Still running laps with a sock in his mouth. Still nipping Daddy’s toes every morning like clockwork. And while the house is a bit quieter now with Remus gone, and the others — Luna, Bellatrix, and Severus — already spoken for, Sirius might just make sure I’m not lonely.

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Remus and Sirius

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Well... “Not so fast,” Daddy says. “Bellatrix is not going anywhere. She’ll stay here with us.”

Whaat? What did he say?