Introducing...Reesey!

If you tuned in to last week's post you would have discovered the new feline family member, Mr. Spooky. Now the household has expanded, and I am the proud owner of a pup!

Meet Reesey.

She is named after my beloved favorite candy, Reesey's Peanut Butter Cups. Not only is she just as sweet as Reesey's PBC's, but she is the same color as creamy peanut butter. Her name came to me about 30 minutes after I got her, upon my Mom's insistence that the puppy must have a name. She kept asking me what my favorite spice was (to invoke a name), but garlic just doesn't have that nice of an appeal to it.
So Reesey popped into my head, and it stuck!

My sister Meghan commented isn't it funny that I (being someone obsessed with food) would name my dog after food. Not surprising, I guess!

Now the story of how Reesey came into my life is a great one...

Remember how we went to Semonkong last weekend? Well my Dad had been talking a lot with the Chief of Semonkong. We had met him at an event at our house a few weeks prior. When we went up to Semonkong last weekend we spent a lot of time with the Chief. The Chief wanted to show my Dad his appreciation for all that he is doing for Semonkong by giving him a sheep.
Being oblivious and naive, I asked Dad what would we do with a sheep?

He said that we would have it slaughtered and have a big party.

I'm sure most of you can imagine the look on my face and response to that idea!

So I told my Dad that if we get a sheep, we are keeping it as a pet in the backyard!

Later during dinner with the Chief, the Chief told us that he would give the sheep to us the next time he was in Maseru. My Dad told him that I was going to make him keep the sheep as a pet because I love animals so much and miss our dog back in the States. We all had a good laugh, and then the Chief said "Do you like dogs? I will have puppies soon, do you want a puppy instead of a sheep? "

(Once again, I'm sure you all know my response to this!)

So upon my ecstatic yes, he told us that he would be having puppies at the end of October. He said that he had one puppy now, but that she was "not very nice." At the time I told him I wanted a male. (I have always wanted a male for some reason.)

When inquiring about what type of dogs he has, he told us they are bulldogs (read: MASSIVE). He uses them as guard dogs, as many people do in this country. After some searching on the internet, I believe they are called boerboels, which is a South African dog.

So I spent the next week obsessing at the prospect of having a dog. I talked my Parents into the idea, and I have to say that I am lucky to have a Dad whose response to the question "do you want a dog" is "whatever makes you happy."

So last Thursday we saw the Chief at the PEPFAR reception at our house. As you can guess, the conversation of dogs came up. He told me I could either take the one puppy he has now, or wait for the new litter.

After the party I spent some more time obsessing about my future puppy. The debate was either to take the female he has now (not knowing how old it is), or wait (impatiently) for a male later on.

Then I had a "eureka" moment. I originally dismissed the prospect of the already born puppy because she was "not nice", and who wants a "not nice" giant massive bulldog? Not me!

But lets back up for a minute- Dogs in Lesotho have functional purposes. They are not pampered pets, which is the American way, but used as guard dogs. This makes sense in a country that has both high poverty (pets are a luxury), and high crime (pets are weapons).

I put two and two together. A "not nice" dog in Lesotho would mean that it is not a good guard dog. What would a nice guard dog be? It would be mean, aggressive, and all things that I do NOT want!
So a "not nice" dog was really what I was looking for! Apparently she was the only puppy that he did not sell from the litter. I could not imagine the future of this little pup if she was not desired, "not nice" and living in Lesotho!

And I admit, sometimes I can be a teeny tiny bit impatient and obsessive. Waiting for the new litter would feel like an eternity. Plus I need to fill a void since my Mom is leaving me for the States for a few months, and I'm missing out on the birth of niece! And as a mentioned before, a house is not a home without a pet, and this is especially true when it comes to dogs. Living doggie free for 1 month was 1 month too many!

So little Reesey has arrived just in time. (Meghan and Steve, I guess we can say that this is your daughter's replacement!)

My Dad called the Chief Friday morning, and by Friday night I had my little peanut butter cup.

Getting Reesey from the Chief

And yes, I am absolutely in love. Puppies are hard work, but I am loving every minute of it. This is my first pet that is all my own and my responsibility, so that makes it pretty cool too. I am going Dog Whisperer style and am taking the training very seriously. This is especially important since she is going to be HUGE and I do NOT want her to act like a typical (aggressive) dog in Lesotho. I'm raising her to be a sweet lady.

Training Reesey

Meeting one of our guards

She is so sweet. She absolutely loves people, and follows me around everywhere. She has a bad habit of biting pant legs and getting a bit too mouthy at times, but I am trying to curb that immediately. So far that is her only bad habit, and it is not a constant. I'm guessing that before I got her she was trained to do that. Well that don't fly with her new Momma!



So all of my parent's children have/will have baby girls. Ryan and Martyna got their new puppy, little Chloe, a few weeks ago, I have Reesey, and Meghan and Steve are expecting their less hairy human baby girl in less than 2 weeks!

So after two years I can either use my savings to fly her back to the U.S, or give her to someone here in Lesotho. You can place your bets now!

All of the Basotho that I have talked to think that I am crazy for choosing a dog over a sheep!

But to conclude the story of Reesey...

She is much better than a sheep!

Kisses for Mom

Running the yard