Out of the Blue

Well, folks, I have a lot of explaining to do and I don't know quite where to start! Our friend Barb at Rim Rock Dalmatians bred a lovely litter of Dalmatian puppies whose Daddy is one of only 8 Dalmatians in the world who have two copies of the gene for low uric acid (LUA). Every puppy he produces will have at least one copy of the gene and therefore also have low uric acid. We have always been impressed with Barb's efforts to improve the health of the Dalmatian breed, even though it is not always popular with many long-time breeders. As if that weren't enough, the puppies were also lucky to have Bizzi for their mother! She's got an International Championship, and both AKC and UKC Championships and Grand Championships, but most importantly to us, she is a wonderful, sweet girl. Check out the puppies' blog at http://www.maks-bizzi.blogspot.com/.

Let me first say that Jim and I did NOT plan on taking a puppy from this litter. Although a third dog was probably in our future, we were planning on it in perhaps another two or three years. As you can see below, all our planning went out the window on Friday evening when we picked up the sweetest little boy puppy!! There were several circumstances that led up to this, but since he really wasn't planned for, we named the puppy Rim Rock's Out of the Blue! His call name is Indigo, but we mostly call him "Indy." Our blog friend Kim has a wonderful Dal named Indy, so we already knew it was a special name.

So although the timing wasn't quite what we had planned on, Indy became a part of our family Friday evening and has spent the weekend wiggling his way into our hearts. He's sweet, funny, smart, and cute as can be!

Like all puppies, he's an angel....when he's sleeping!

Who could resist this little guy? He jumps into the pile of dog toys and pulls out the biggest stuffed critter he can find and shakes and tosses it. Here he is napping on a toy duck!

Indy at 9 weeks

Here's Indy with Tess and Jazz at his very first agility trial. He was awesome! He was very comfortable in the building with all the noises and sounds of an agility trial, and he was incredibly well behaved in the ex pen with the girls.


Indy's sister Emily joined him for some socialization at the trial today. She also did very well in the trial environment and became more and more comfortable while she was there. Here they are snuggled in the ex pen together. By the way, Indy wants me to let you all know that he's terribly embarrassed that all his hand-me-downs are pink!!! He's the first boy puppy we've ever had and he has to suffer through some pink beds and blankets before he can get some decidedly more masculine accessories!



Tess and Jazz have done phenomenally well with Indy, and I think they're going to love having a little brother. His temperament is fantastic. He's the right mix of loving, curious, smart, and eager to please. Even if the timing wasn't quite perfect, he was just too good to pass up! We have known Barb since 1988 when we got our first Dalmatian, and she played a big part in us getting three of the four we've owned, so it's a real privilege for us to welcome a Rim Rock Dalmatian into our home. Thanks, Barb, for trusting us with this special little boy. We look forward to many years of adventures with him!!