Finding Liam

Twas a sunny, crisp day in a pretty place far, far away from Sandpoint when I found Liam. Late next week, we'll return to that place in Eastern Washington and bring Liam home to the Idaho Lovestead. 

Somebody on Facebook commented on Liam's photo and said, "Love at first sight."  

That it was.  

"I've picked the one I want," I said----in all of 30 seconds----to Liam's human friends who had carried the three little boy puppies outside their house for me to see.  "Which one do you think?"

"The little one," one sister guessed.

"Nope, the big one with all the chrome," I responded. In my mind, chrome on horses and pups relates to the white markings.  

Somehow, in my experiences, it seems that a bond is formed almost immediately when a lovely creature sends the message, "I'm yours."  

That's how it was with Lefty when I picked him from 25 of his closest foal friends at a Ronan ranch eight years ago.  My sister had picked him the week before.  So, surely it was meant to be that Lefty would come to Idaho. 

I feel the same about Liam.  When I picked him up from the pen where he and his brothers were playing, he settled right into my arms, almost immediately meeting my eyes with an expression indicating that he felt perfectly comfortable with me. 

I don't know how the first meeting will be with Kiwi and Foster, who remained in the car when we paid Liam's family a visit yesterday near Hunters, Wash.

I suspect there will be some awkward, maybe even snarly moments when he first arrives home, but that probably won't last long, once the playing begins. 

Bill and I are both prepared for "puppy duty."  We've done it before, and we'll probably have a few nights when puppy duty isn't all that fun, but it's the big picture that counts.

Liam is as cute as he can be, so we'll let the love overrule the inconvenience of cleaning up a mess or two or hiding every shoe or boot in the house. 

Liam comes from a beautiful setting in a area I've never been before.  

Hunters is 28 miles from Springdale, in the heart of ranching country.  It's also where one of the huge Washington forest fires devastated the landscape in the mountains. 

Its open, rolling hills and long-established ranches added a wonderful dimension of bucolic charm to my puppy hunt yesterday.  

Liam's human family, which includes nine children, live a life of independence and old-time values in a "Little House on the Prairie" setting.

During my visit, we talked horses, wolves, Alaskan fishing, family life, Border Collies and---would you believe---the ZAGS!

Yes, even in far-off Hunters, Liam's family follows the ZAGS. 

It was a lovely experience, meeting little Liam Love, the adorable pup, sure to add a joyful new chapter to life at the Lovestead.   

And, having met his family, I think he'll be coming to us with a wonderful foundation where love for animals and each other definitely abounds.

Twas a good day's pilgrimage to Hunters.  I found Liam and discovered, for the first time, another patch of remote, rural beauty. 

Happy Friday.