Nina...

Yes, this is our dog. We "adopted" her (read: rescued) from our previous neighbor who was poking hard at her, when the dog had the misfortune of walking into her yard. Julie rescued her, we gave her food/water, and left to a friends house. When we returned that night, the dog had left, but was roaming in the yard below (rebellious dog... *wink*)

The next morning was our day off. I got up, started to make some coffee and thought to myself, "I'll bet that dog is sitting right outside our door." I opened it up and sure enough, she was lying down on a 5 inch concrete ledge between the wall and stairs. It took a tremendous amount of coaxing (and fresh meat) to lure her from her refuge. She quickly warmed up to Julie and I and thus began our mutual arrangement. We provided house, home, food, shelter, and love for the dog, and in return she was her happy self and stayed loyal to us.

Nina adjusted to the move into our new apartment quite well. It's been amazing to see her transformed from a battered, scared little thing who would run tail-tucked every time someone new came into the house to a confident (well, not all the times but she's improving) upbeat puppy who likes to play with others!

Nina has this hilarious new habit. She will run back and forth outside, find a seemingly random spot in the sand (maybe it's purposeful for her, but it sure seems random) and proceed to dig down about 4 inches. Once that is finished she sticks her nose in it as far as she possibly can, and with all the breath she can muster, sniffs the hole. This is only made more humorous when, after checking the hole for strange smells, she sprawls out on the ground, lifts her head up and looks at you with this big smile, tongue dangling, and her nose/chin splotched with sand.

Sound intrigued?

Come visit us and see for yourself.