Gemma

So the time came when Anya's litter was almost ready to be placed. I was there for there birth and helped look over them from time to time during the breast feeding stage. I could feel the pull of puppy love from the beginning but didn't think I'd be ready when they were. But damn they were so adorable.

Anya of Sibersong and the litter Gemma came from.

One weekend while I was visiting and helping out in N.H. we went to the kennel where they were staying and the puppies had gotten so big and cute. They were running all over and when I stepped into their kennel I was bombarded by tiny little paws and tongues. I've heard the term puppy pile but until then I hadn't experienced one.

Getting ready to pick one! Pretty sure that's Gemma far left.

These puppies were full of energy. Luna was 10 months old when I adopted her so I hadn't had the full puppy experience in about 18 years. The one puppy that wouldn't leave me alone even when mama came around was Gemma. Can you guess what filled my thoughts from that point on? It was time to take the leap and start building a team. If I was going to be a musher like I wanted to be then it had to happen sooner or later and to have a Sibersong pup that I helped whelp was that much more of a bonus. 

As we left the kennel I told Jaye that I would like to get one of her puppies but I didn't know if I should get a male or female next. Luna is female and wasn't sure about team makeup. Jaye assured me that it didn't matter and I should just go with the puppy that picked me.

For the next few weeks I would stay up at night with puppies dancing in my head. Now that I had made my request for a pup, I couldn't wait. They would be ready after Christmas but it just didn't come soon enough. I had to fight everyday to not bug Jaye with questions about how and when. 

Finally, I was going back to N.H. for New Years and Jaye said I could pick one! We spent a couple days training her team at The Happy Place before I was to go see the puppies. Time went by so slow. When we went back to see the puppies, we put the sled team back in their kennels and thankfully Jaye said I could go play with the puppies while she fed them lol. 

Once again I was bowled over by fur, paws and tiny tongues. It had been a while since I had seen Gemma so I just played and watched all the pups waiting for one to pick me. At first the whole litter was all over me before they started running and playing. Jax and Trinity stayed close but I knew they were off limits. Jaye had already put dibs on them.

After about half an hour the puppies had calmed down as much as puppies can and were milling around. Kim and Kelly Berg were also there taking pictures for profiles so that also gave the puppies a distraction. In the end it was one puppy that stuck by me and came back after checking other things out. That puppy was Gemma.

I really had no idea until that point. I was looking at color, eyes, over all look. I couldn't decide on that alone because all of them were beautiful. Gemma picked for me. So began Team Fireball.

Visiting gramma's and trying to get Luna up to go back outside!

She has been so good for me and for Luna. Now to raise and train her. Never thought I'd be here again but I cannot imagine being without my dogs. Time to puppy proof my life!