Ash & Coal, reunited!

On December 10 my mom and Tommy adopted Coal, Ash's brother. Coal had been available for adoption on and off on the Poodle Rescue Vermont (PRVT) website as his first couple of families had young children and the stress of a new situation combined with the energy of the kids made it difficult for Coal to adjust. When my mom learned that Coal was up for adoption again she submitted an application to PRVT. Only a few days later they had a home visit scheduled, which David and I happened to be in VT for. Coal ran around the house meeting the other dogs, and was much less timid than Ash. While it's impossible to know if he and Ash knew they are brothers, it seemed as though they at the very least remembered each other. 

Ash and Coal playing during the home visit

Considering mom and Tommy already were parents to three labs (one yellow named Neo, one chocolate named Stella, one black named Belle) and a cockapoo/beagle mix named Brandy, it is certainly debateable whether they were in need of a fifth dog. However, the visit with Coal went very well and his foster mom was able to leave him with us that very day. Coal has now adjusted very well to his new family and gets along great with his "brothers and sisters", as well as with his real brother Ash during visits. He is very well loved by Mom and Tommy as well as his extended family, and is hopefully settling in and feeling confident that he has found his forever home. David and I are certainly really excited to have Coal in the family! 

Adoption photo

Ash and Coal at Grammy Pat's house

Ash and Coal, #2

Over the holidays David, Ash and I had several opportunities to hang out with Coal! He is super cute, and very different in personality than Ash. He is much more confident, and comes immediately when called. He LOVES to be held, and will run up to you and put his paws on your legs to be picked up. Once in your lap he falls right asleep and turns into a rag doll. He barks a bit more than Ash, as if he is defending his space. He is very smart and learned "down" in our first training session. It's fun to watch Ash come out of his shell when he is around the other dogs - he is much more outgoing and is eager to join in the mayhem.

Ash and Coal seem to really enjoy being together, and tend to follow each other around in the house. If one is napping on the couch, the other is napping close by. For short periods of time we have put them in a crate together (the crate is too small for two dogs so we don't keep them in there long) in hopes that it will help make Ash feel more comfortable in that environment (Ash has decided he likes his crate as a "nap" zone, he just doesn't like having the door closed - Coal doesn't seem to mind either way). The night before Christmas Eve Coal joined us at Joe's Pond for our celebration with Dad and Grammy Jane. He went to sleep in bed with Christine, which happened to be in a room without a door. Not 30 minutes later Coal had migrated two floors down in the house and hopped into bed with David, Ash and I! We were pretty sure he just wanted to be with Ash, because other nights when they are in the same house one or the other tends to wake up early to go looking for the respective brother.

They are both awake here, but usually they curl up and go to sleep :)