Where are they now?

The puppies are just over 8 months old now!  It’s amazing how time flies. I have been meaning to write this post for sooo long!  I don’t have any good excuses for why it’s taken me so long, so I’ll just dive right into it.  Going roughly in order of when the puppies departed from our hale, here are some updates and photos on where the puppies are now...

Our sweet little Kidney Bean was the first to leave us.  She has moved on to the Big Island where she lives a good life with her new parents Vince & Jane.  She has been to puppy school and is blossoming into such a beautiful little miss.

Below are several pictures I have received of this sweet girl, who now goes by the name "Tasha"... 

from April 2012:

from June 2012:

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The other two girls, Lima Bean and Jelly Bean live on Kauai now with their new parents Liz and Dick.  Liz and Dick are long-time Borzoi owners, very dedicated to the breed.  (Tying in with my update above about Kidney/Tasha, Liz and Dick's last Borzoi was also named Tasha :)   Jelly's new name is "Anna" (short for something that I can't remember at the moment), and Lima is now "Lilly" (also short for something longer, and very fabulous I might add.)

I don't have any recent photos of the girls to share, but I do have two photos I took at the airport from the day I sent them off to Kauai.  We got to the airport a little early, so I let the girls out of their kennel and spent some precious last few minutes with them in the car... it was raining outside as you can see (and inside too...the tears were flowing!)

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Cocoa was the next pup to leave our house.  He is pictured above at left with his brother Garbanzo.  Cocoa went to Maui and was renamed "Roman" by his new mom, Alexis.  I have already posted several updates on the blog telling Roman's story (if you haven't already read about this, PLEASE DO - here is the link: Please Help Find Roman!).  It breaks my heart to say that we still don't know where Roman is.  

I have also reported previously on Garbanzo, who we we had renamed "Kawailoa's Bonzer Swell" ("Bonzer" for short) and decided to keep (here is the link to that post: The next chapter unfolds...).  As noted in my last post, Bonzer is now with Alexis on Maui, something that absolutely warms my heart, and her's too.  He is now called "Boris".  We will never stop looking forward to the day that Boris and Roman will be reunited once again under Alexis' roof.  Hugs to you Alexis ~ you have been through an ordeal and I know you have done, and continue to do everything you can for these boys.

Boris is very happy in his new home, with his new girlfriend Phoebe the cat...

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Getting back to the historical order of departures from our hale, Soy was the next pup to leave us.  We sent Soy off to the Big Island of Hawaii to his new parents Cliff-Ann and Ronald, who were so very excited about their new boy.  Soy was a huge favorite of mine.  More than I let on, and more than I should have allowed.  When it came time to say goodbye to Soy, I cried my eyes out ALL DAY.  I still get choked up thinking about him.  Ugh!  Unfortunately, I don't have any recent photos of Soy to share, but I do have a few pictures from the airport drop-off.  You can just barely see in the 2nd shot the tiny little collar I crocheted for him as a safe-travels charm...  

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The next boy to leave us was Pali-II, now called "Jazz".  Jazz lives here on Oahu with his new parents Lori and James, and his dog-brother, Miki (a Groendal!).  Jazz is growing into such a handsome boy, so much like his father.  Here are some photos of Jazz, starting with when he first went to live with his new family, and some more recent shots where you can see he has now surpassed Miki in size!

July 2012:

September 2012:

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Next to leave us was Lentil, who is now "Kuhio".  It was hard to part with Lentil, but he has gone to a wonderfully loving home here on Oahu, with his new mom Maria.  Maria once owned a wolf, and now she has a wolfhound :)  Kuhio has been to obedience school and is growing into a tall elegant hound.  We met up with Kuhio once at the dog park in Mililani and it was so amazing to see for myself how handsome and sweet this boy remains!  A few pictures...

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Adzuki, now "Mischa", remains here on Oahu as well, with his wonderful new parents Kathleen and Jean.  Mischa is their first Borzoi, but they have owned Irish Wolfhounds in the past.  Like many of his siblings, Mischa has attended puppy classes and is growing into a handsome, well mannered hound.  When we went on a trip to the Big Island to celebrate our anniversary this summer, and when we still had Bonzer (now "Boris"), Kathleen and Jean took Bonzer for the long weekend.  The brothers had a fun reunion and I am sharing below a few pics from that weekend, plus one other...     

 At puppy school:

 

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And that's it for now!  Warmest aloha to all the Kawailoa Borzoi owners and pups!

The next chapter unfolds...

No updates since the last post as far as finding Roman.  It's absolutely heartbreaking.  I guess we have to hope that somebody found him and fell in love with him and is refusing to give him up.  Not the outcome any of us hoped for, but I suppose that may be the best case scenario.  There haven't been any sightings or leads at all.  It's like he's completely vanished.  This whole situation has led to a lot of soul searching and considerations on how best to move forward.  Not to move on in the sense of giving up, but how to move forward?  I won't speak for everybody involved, although I probably can, but I know I was falling victim to feelings of despair, stagnation, inability to cope.  This hit me HARD.  Anyway, to make a long story short, we've decided to send Bonzer to Maui to be adopted by Alexis.  That will be the final puppy to leave our nest, and it will mean that Alexis has one of our litter with her again.  It warms my bruised heart to think about all the love that little Bonzer will get from Alexis, and all the love and healing that he will be able to give her.  We'll never stop looking for Roman and praying for his safe return; and now Bonzer will be able to play an active role in the search for his brother.  I feel very good about this - the good far outweighs any sadness I feel about saying goodbye to our last pup.  Besides, Pali and Hana will always be my babies...they make my world go round and fill my heart completely.

Some pictures from the other day...

Pali...

 Hana happily snuggling her babe...

 Silly Bonzer with a floppy tongue.  This is a patented Pali move, to wake up from a nap like this.  He is so much like his daddy...

Can you believe how BIG Bonzer has gotten?!  Almost as big as his Mama!

 Look at that epic schnozz!  I think his face IS bigger than Hana's already...

 snuggles

 yes Bonzer, you are adorable and oh so handsome...

Please Help Find Roman!

It's with a worried, sad, but optomistic heart that I am posting the following information.  Roman, formerly, "Cocoa", has been missing since June 10.  We have spoken with 3 animal communicators who believe he is still alive and not far from home, but lost and scared.  There have been a few uncomfirmed sightings, but nothing conclusive.  I leave for Maui tomorrow to try to help Alexis find her baby.  We've all been worried sick about him for weeks.  If anybody reading this blog knows anybody on Maui, please help us spread the word!

Happy Father's Day to Pali!

Yesterday we celebrated Father's Day (or should we call it, Sire's Day?)  Marc and I took the whole gang, which currently consists of Pali, Hana, Bonzer, and Misha) up to Pupukea for a family outing.  It was actually the first walk we've taken with all four Borzoi in tow!  It could not have gone better!  It was quite a sight having all four hounds up in that beautiful setting.  Alas, I lost my camera on Kauai a few weeks ago (L O N G story), so I don't have any pictures to show from the outing.  However, I did edit some video footage to make a fun little video dedicated to Pali for Father's Day.  The video is posted below, along with a few older shots of our proud papa, Pali, up at Pupukea...

June!

Yesterday we took Pali and the pups to visit the vet.  The pups got microchipped and prescribed preventative flea meds, Pali had his annual/pre-neuter exam (yes, we’re getting him snipped too).  Everything is on track with the puppies’ health.  We gave the final Parvo and Distemper vaccines toward the end of April – in total, 4 rounds of Parvo, 3 of Distemper.  (If any of our new puppy owners are reading this – did you get that final round of vaccines done at your vet?)  Now with the microchips and flea meds taken care of, we are all good to go and hopefully won’t need any trips to the vet for another year or so. 

Last weekend the puppies had a blast playing in our yard and they (as well as our house of course) ended up covered in mud…

May updates...

I haven't been able to spend much time on the blog lately, but I wanted to post a little update.  Life is good here at the Kawailoa Borzoi hale.  Things have settled down and we are gradually returning to life as we knew it pre-puppies.  Right now it's still a pretty full house...Borzoi-wise we've got betwen Pali and Hana; the puppy we chose to keep, Garbanzo, who is now officially registered with AKC as "Kawailoa's Bonzer Swell" and goes by "Bonzer" for short; and Adzuki, who has been renamed "Misha" by his new owners (we're holding onto Misha until July because his new family is taking a trip overseas).  We still have the three cats - Skye (who remains queen of the house), The Snowy Biscuit, and Snowy's little girl, Phantom.  Missing from the picture is Reef, our bunny, who went to live in our friend Leah's kindergarden classroom where he gets much more attention than we were able to give him.  I miss Reef and I miss the puppies that have moved on.  It feels a bit empty-nesty here, but it's all for the best, and we still have our hands full.

Last weekend I took Pali down to the Pet Expo in Town.  It was quite an experience...I had never been, so I didn't know what to expect.  It was held inside the Blaisdel Center, and was full of booths, attendees with their dogs, and a ring for demonstrations and 'events'.  I got to show Pali in the 'Parade of Breeds'.  It was our first time in the ring.  We waited with the other hounds before showtime, many of which we had already met at (HLCC) lure coursing. 

Here's a picture of Pali, with the beautiful Afghan, Kolohe, and several Saluki's in the background.  Pali and Kolohe get along really well...
it was definitely love at first sight(hound) with these two... 

And here is Pali all dressed up for the occasion...  

Kolohe and Buffy (Saluki), both HLCC coursers...

 Hah, and here are two pictures of Pali and I in the ring...

Switching gears here... 

Back at home, the pups are growing up so fast!  Here are a few recent pictures of the gang... I went heavy on the Misha pictures for the benefit of his new family who is missing out on watching him grow right now...

Misha and his long legs!

Misha, demonstrating the phrase "puppydog eyes"

  

Skye peering at Misha through the kitty door

Bonzer peeking through the kitty door

Bonzer

I think this was Misha?

  

Misha - such beautiful colors

Misha with a toy

Misha and Bonzer tug-o-war

Mama-Hana (how cute is her tag?!)

Hana - finally putting on a little weight :)

Bonzer and a toy

Handsome Misha

Bonzer's tail! 
This is from a week or so ago, it's even more 'shaggy' now - looking more and more like an adult Borzoi!

the twins

  

No matter how many toys we buy them, nothing beats an improv-toy...

Misha

Misha

  

Misha

Bonzer

  

Pali and the twins!