Fire in the hills…  Wait, that’s not the smoke I’m referring to….

The familiarity was evident. Kali walked down the driveway and Smokey immediately ran up to her and smelled her face.  The normal dog greeting is usually on the opposite end but Smokey has always enjoyed “Kissy Face” with Kali often time placing his two front paws on her snout to balance while smelling the top of her head.  Kali smiled and I did too because it was great to see Kali and Smokey back to together for a few days.

When we moved to the mountains my daughter Jessi, who is Smokey’s mom, moved into an  apartment in the Bay Area.  So after living together for almost two years Smokey and Kali would not be seeing each other very often.  Jessi’s move proceeded ours by about a month and Smokey had two brief meetings with new puppy Kloe when Jessi came back home a couple of times.  During their first meeting Smokey made it clear that he didn’t approve of Kloe’s presence in his old house.  Kloe who was 10 weeks old at the time, but twice as big as Smokey,  approached Smokey who growled and went off to sleep in his crate with a big old “Who in the heck is that?!?” thought bubble over his head.  Kloe’s thought bubble was something like “But I just wanted a hug”. But the message was delivered and Kloe kept her distance Smokey’s visit and also the next one.

I was in the Bay Area for work on Thursday and picked Smokey up from my daughter on my way back to our home in Tuolumne.  Because of the dynamic with Smokey and Kloe during their two brief encounters we thought it best to be a little strategic in how we re-introduced them.  When I arrived home Holly brought Kali out first to greet Smokey.  After he had time for a little Kissy Face and to sniff around the front of the house Holly went to get Kloe.

When Kloe came down she was full of enthusiasm which goes without saying.  I think Smokey was more interested in Kloe than vice-versa.  They did a few butt sniffs and went about their own business.   As good as Kloe’s training has been going I expected some fireworks between Smokey and her.  She’s just four months old and sometimes her enthusiasm gets the best of her and that wouldn’t play well with Smokey. I knew that if Kloe tried to rough house with Smokey like she does with Kali it would be a problem.  But they’ve mostly stayed clear of one another and as much as I would love to see them interact Smokey is only 10 pounds and Kloe is too young to know to take it easy on him (like Kali takes it easy on Kloe [but not for long]…).

Smokey will be with us until Monday morning when Holly will take him back home to Jessi.  So until then we’re enjoying a long Smokey weekend with the trio in the photo below.