Thor is coming!  Thor is coming!  Back to the U.S. that is!  Our adorable four month old puppy, Thoraxis, has become a part of our family so when we found out we were headed home, my first thought was OH NO THOR CAN’T GO!  We hadn’t brought our beloved Viszla, Izaak, to China due to the expense and hardship it would take on his health being a big dog who would have to ride in cargo.

So, Izaak stayed home with Hannah and Mike to become Ollie’s (their Great Dane) brother from a different mother and he has loved his new family.  But, soon we return to Seattle and will welcome him back into our lives to walk and cuddle with–Izaak loves to spoon.

Luckily, we worked out the details with my company and Thor can now make the trip back with us.  He has gone through so much in the three months that we have had him.  Thom and James got him while I was in the U.S. on a business trip in July when he became available as a rescue dog.  The runt of the litter with health problems, he has now gone from a sickly one pounder to a healthy four pound bundle of energy with THE sharpest baby teeth.  After getting all his vaccines, he has now graduated to outside walks which we used to enjoy so much in Seattle with Izaak.  After being afraid of steps, both up and down, Thor now takes them with no hesitation and seems to at least tolerate other dogs he meets outside.   Good news for his cohabitation future with Izaak.

While walking the local streets, Thor looks right at home and plops down on the dirty sidewalks to rest intermittently because he does have short legs after all.  After stepping in his own deposit on the street, though, Thor had to endure only his third bath of his short life, which he desperately needed.  Now I understand completely why most dogs in China wear booties–after stepping into their own DNA and that of many other folks who spit and poop on the streets, you do not want that dog jumping on your furniture and sitting on your lap. YUCK!

I did find him the cutest outfit to wear (over Thom’s loud objections) that had a checked shirt and sweatpants, but found out quickly that he had grown so much that it was too tight.  After laughing at him falling over because he couldn’t move in it, we stopped the puppy torture and decided to regift it to my sister’s Chihuahua, Sierra Marie, who is teeny tiny and needs some cozy fleece to keep warm on those cold Midwestern nights.  We’ll just have to keep on looking for appropriate street wear for Thor to style in Seattle.  He needs to be a hipster to fit in at Stumptown coffee–he would look cool rocking some skinny jeans, suspenders and a bow tie… just saying.