Black (sheep) is beautiful

I really wanted a yellow puppy.  We've raised two yellow males (Tucker and Brando) and three black females (Pearl, Yuli, and Darby). The two most important dogs of my childhood (Dixie and Jemima) both were black labs. Still, for reasons that are probably completely irrational, I'm attracted to blondes.  As a child, Steve's hair looked like spun silver. Not that I knew him them, but both our sons were pale yellow-blondes as toddlers. In the dog world, I think the yellow faces communicate more than the ebony ones. We joke that the black dogs can't be photographed; they suck up the light like black holes. I love trying to read the expression on my dog's face, and the black ones can be tough to read.

When we submitted our application to raise another CCI puppy, I specified that I wanted a yellow dog.  (Truth be told, I would have been happiest with a blonde male, but I agreed that a female would be okay too.) When Becca called to ask if we would be ready for a pup by December 5, I asked about the color, and Becca reconfirmed we'd be getting a yellow female. I e-mailed her a week before the pick-up date to reconfirm that -- and again she said the puppy would be yellow. So my heart sank when I learned Dionne in fact was black.

I've since been told that the local office was informed that all 8 pups in Dionne's litter were yellow. But in fact, Dionne, the 6th of the 8, was a black sheep.

In the three weeks since then, I've been surprised by how often I exclaim over how cute she is. My reaction still puzzles me. Although our Puppy Mentor LeAnn had said she thinks Dionne is one of the prettiest CCI puppies ever, I don't think she's as classically pretty as several of her predecessors.

Baby Yuli

Baby Darby

Baby Dionne

Steve and I have commented that Dionne has an old, old face -- a face that looks as if it has borne heavy burdens and experienced woe. Adding to the picture have been those nasty eye staples. 

Today Steve took her back to the animal hospital, where Dr. Scoggin removed the staples. 

Note her new Christmas collar.

Staple free at last! And note also how much her muzzle has grown in just 3 weeks.

What impresses me most is that I've stopped noticing what color she is. Far more than her appearance, I'm responding to her personality. It is lovely.