Thursday, August 21, 2008

Meet Zeke

High: 75º F
Low: 58º F
Conditions: Partly cloudy and continued breezy.

Everybody needs a friend. That’s especially true if you are an extremely social canine naturalist. We received rumor that a new candidate had just arrived in the seaside town of Boothbay Harbor, where Greg’s sister and brother-in-law live. This news was all the excuse we needed to hop in the car and find out more.
We started off by admiring some of the lovely coastal gardens in the area. Ari seemed particularly taken by the hydrangea, but not enough to want to linger—after all, you can only look at a bush for so long, even if it is a blue one.

Keeping with our color theme, Ari next tried very hard to befriend Blue, our persnickety cat-in-law. Here’s how that project went:

Apparently, Blue isn’t quite as keen on caninaturalists as Mouse and Leila Tov are.

While Ari tried unsuccessfully to woo this enormous cat, we humans had a great time getting to know the region’s famous bivalves.
The Damariscotta River estuary is a particularly rich spot for plankton and algae. This, coupled with its pristine waters, result in some of the best oysters in the world.

Shellfish is slightly more appealing than bushes and mean cats for Ari, but they still aren’t entirely satisfying. After much impatient sighing, she finally got to meet the main attraction: Zeke, rescue dog extraordinaire.
Zeke was on death row at a Tennessee shelter when a golden retriever rescue center learned of him. They swooped in and saved him just hours before his execution, even though he is neither golden nor much of a retriever. Then he and 150 other inmates were transported up to New England in a giant horse trailer (what a racket that must have been inside!), where they were met by their very excited new families.
Zeke is 8 months old and a total goofball. We've nicknamed him Pinky, from Pinky and Brain (which suits Ari just fine, so long as she gets to be the Brain.). Still, we’re delighted to count him as part of our extended family. And Ari’s more than happy to claim him as her new best friend. She’s even enrolled him in an advanced caninaturalist seminar. They should be out tracking foxes together any day now--if they're not plotting to take over the world first.

22 comments:

Danni said...

Yay!!! Welcome Zeke-Pinky...you are going to have a wonderful new home! I love that last picture of Ari and Zeke...beautiful! :-)

Teddy Westlife said...

Oh Zeke is ADORABLE! Check out those ears. What a lucky pup.

Huffle Mawson, Honorary Husky and Explorer Cat

Pippa said...

He is a gorgeous looking dog. I bet he will be a great student and a fine friend for Ari. We like stories with happy endings.

Kess And Her Mama said...

What a blessing to be able to give Zeke a new lease of life. Look forward to hearing more tales from Ari and Zeke!

Kyanite said...

Welcome Zeke!
I'm sure Ari will be a wise tutor.

Pats & pets
Blue

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

Oh khongrats!

What a khutie -

Me thinks I see some signs of husky lurking in Zeke!!

Those ears and those eyes are just tooo dear fur words!!!

Teach him well Ari -

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra

Eve said...

Horray!! I'm so happy now! What a sweetheart and I'm sure there will be lots of happy times between these best buds! XXX & OOO for all!!

Anonymous said...

Yay for rescuers! Our Fishy was a rescued retriever, lucky for us!

BBay is so close to Henbogle -- if you're down this way again let us know!
ALi

The Army of Four said...

WOW! Zeke is cool! I see a lot of Sibe in him, like Khyra does!
Hydrangea. Hmmm. We used to have THREE Oak Leaf Hydrangea bushes ... and OSWALD the BUNNY ate them! Can you believe that? Mom wasn't a happy camper.
Play bows,
Zim

Marigold said...

He is rather nice looking for a dog. He has markings much like a goat on his face. That makes him extra special, I am sure.

Lorenza said...

Hi, friends!
Zeke is sooooo cute! Glad he has a lovely home now!
I am sure Ari will teach him all he needs to know about life!
Kisses and hugs
Lorenza

sugarcreekstuff said...

ooh, that face. And they called it puppy love.

Unknown said...

Zeke looks like a rreally good buddy! Have fun!

Trish ~ ♥ ~ said...

Yipee!! Another one rescued! Zeke seems to be enjoying the good life now. Congratulations on the newest member of our "in-law" family.

Anonymous said...

Welcome to your new home Zeke!
Hugs,
Sitka

umekotyan said...

Good evening Ari.
Wonderful record on weekend.
It is naturally enclosed, and time of summer.
As for elk's signs, I feel rich nature.
Time of the enjoyment to eat oyster slowly.
The wonderful Olympics on weekend. :)

from loved ume tyan

Anonymous said...

Zeke! He's beeeeutiful. In the larger picture he looks like he's still a puppy...that rescue organization is a great one.

Steve, Kat, & Wilbur said...

Hi Zeke! I bet you and Ari will have tons of fun playing.

Kat

Southbaygirl said...

Ari-I like your new best friend!!! Zeke is very lucky to have you as a friend!

I hope you and your mom are having fun watching Mad Men! Mom went to the wrap party last night-she couldn't take me!!! They were taking pictures and taking video-supposedly they show the wrap party after the season finale-mom was a bit horrified!!!

Yes, can you believe I have 4 kitties now! Mom rescued another one-she a girl and she races around the house all day long!!!

I hope you guys had a great weekend!!

Velcro

JB's Big and Small Worlds said...

hee hee...if Ari helps me dig under my new fence, maybe more new friends will come and visit me!
--JB

Gus, Louie and Callie said...

Oh Zeke is just beautiful. It is so great that he has found a forever home and you get to be his friend...

Big Sloppy Kisses
Gus, Louie and Callie

Charity, Katie, Louie & Natalie said...

Zeke is adorable...definitely a good choice for a BFF.