Today, one year ago, we adopted Yadi from a sweet little Amish family in Lancaster (Kirkwood) Pennsylvania.
We got really lucky in finding Yadi.
PetFinder.com is a website that very rarely has purebred dogs (as it's a site for rehoming, rescuing, adopting). And if they do have purebreds, they are usually not puppies, but adult dogs needing to be re-homed.
Fortunately for us, Yadi and her siblings were "accidents" (do the Amish not believe in fixing their animals??? Just curious). Therefore, they did not want all these puppies and needed them gone ASAP.
(the Amish family we got her from had a female Weim, who "accidently" did the deed with their Amish neighbors male Weim)
So we got to bring home our adorable little Weimy, Yadi.
To read about us adopting her, check out my post from last year
HERE.
Yadi has been my saving grace. I absolutely hated life in Annapolis. From the day we arrived, I counted down the days until we would leave and move to Florida. (In hindsight, Annapolis wasn't horrible but I truly did not want to live there, did not enjoy it 90% of the time, and am definitely not a north/east coast girl). But having Yadi helped to keep me smiling, laughing and helped the days pass.
I will also admit that Yadi had me in tears many days. I thought she was an awful puppy, but after talking to others, I guess she was just a normal puppy. But to me, she was a terror. She chewed on EVERYTHING!...window sills, table legs, table seats, the couch, shoes, socks, rocks, concrete sidewalks, brick walls, cd racks, etc. She'd grab her FULL water bowl and spill it all over the kitchen tile and living room carpet. If she could fit it in her mouth, she'd chew on it. And if it didn't fit in her mouth, well, she'd find a way. Our arms and hands looked like we were cutters (really bad ones). We tried everything...loud noises (she loved it), chili powder and similar things (didn't bother her), Bitter Apple spray and other similar brands (didn't bother her). This girl was just unstoppable. We were sooooo happy the day she lost her last baby tooth and her teething stopped.
Yadi wasn't all bad. The girl learns things so quickly. She could learn a new command or trick in literally 5 minutes. All it took was doing it two or three times and she got it...and never forgot it. She seemed like such a show off in PetSmart puppy training classes. On graduation day, the other dogs could only do the basic things we learned in class, and they needed to do them a few times to get it right on the final "test" day. Yadi, on the other hand, did them all perfectly the first time asked. On top of that, she was able to do many, many tricks for extra credit (speak, shake (distinguishing which hand we gave her), "pound it" (or as some call it, knuckles), having her lay down and placing treats all over her paws and telling her to "leave it", etc. Yeah, puppy genius right here!
We also did not have the struggle of learning to walk on a leash. Yadi never ever pulled. She actually walked one or two steps behind us so we were fortunate with that as well.
Yadi is truly a comedian. As Julius calls her, "Wildcard". You never know what she's going to do next. She's true to her breed in many, many ways. She's full of energy. Never lying down unless it's to sleep. She cannot just lay down and watch the world around her. If she's not sleeping, she's walking around the house trying to find something to do. She has separation anxiety and tries to break out of her crate (even though she loves her crate).
She's got so much attitude and sass. She has a STRONG personality. It can be frustrating at times but she definitely keeps us laughing all day long. She's vocal and let's you know her feelings. She's protective when Nick is gone (which is annoying and sometimes makes me nervous if she knows something is out there). She's beyond obsessed with me and her Chuck-It ball. Really, she just loves balls in general. She loves to wrestle with her sister, be the first out the door, and is crazy obsessed with food. She knows what she wants and will do what she can to get it. She is sometimes too smart for her own good and tries to "play" us. And she is stubborn as hell!!!
But all of these are the reasons we love her and the reasons she keeps us laughing 90% of the time we're around her. There's really no way to describe her crazy ass, it's just something you've got to see.
In all, she's a great dog. She loves people a little too much (still working on her jumping behavior, but definitely making progress), but she's a good dog. Knows her commands, listens well, and loves us (and her sister) so freaking much.
Now to enjoy some pictures of when we first got her to now:
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| right after we brought Yadi home (11 weeks old) |
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| right after we brought Yadi home (11 weeks old) |
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| (11 weeks old) |
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That belly is how she got her name. For the story, check out the link I posted earlier in this post
(11 weeks old) |
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playing on Hospital Point at the United States Naval Academy
(11 weeks old) |
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teaching Yadi to swim just 2 days after we adopted her
(11 weeks old) |
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| (11 weeks old) |
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| (3.5 months old) |
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| (3.5 months old) |
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as I said, she tried to eat EVERYTHING! Knocked this down then carried it all over the apartment
(3 months old) |
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Yadi and Bachelor, still the best of friends from Maryland to now here in Florida =)
(12 weeks old) |
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Yadi in her toddler stages lol
(3.5 months old) |
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vet visit
(3.5 months old) |
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Chewing on the metal bed/table
(3.5 months old) |
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that tongue
(3.5 months old) |
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She loved to chew on the bells more than ring them to go outside
(3 months old) |
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| Puppy Training Graduation |
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| halfway to her full adult size! |
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Yadi helping us move into our new home in Pensacola, FL
(she did AWESOME on the drive from Maryland) |
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| Yadi grew SO fast! |
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| The day we brought her sister, Vino, home |
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| Yadi's new sister on her first day with us |
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| They became best friends immediately |
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| If they're sleeping, they're cuddled up together |
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| Yadi the Cardinal Rally Squirrel for Halloween |
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| They even cuddle in the car |
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| Yadi chasing squirrels |
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Personality!
(7 months old) |
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| 7 months old |
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| Merry Christmas! |
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| Yadi even traveled home to Missouri and got to tailgate at a Mizzou game! |
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Yadi would hide her face in Nick every time I lifted the camera.
Someone is camera shy |
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| Yadi loooooves sticks |
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| Anxiety much? No more beds for Yadi |
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| Yadi and Bachelor in Florida. |
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| best friends |
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| soccer stud like her Mama |
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| Yadi's 1st Birthday |
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| Yadi (and Vino and I) visited Daddy on base during his lunch break |
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| obsessed with her Mommy |
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| Also obsessed with balls |
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| She will stand on the ottoman, in front of the television, if you don't pay attention to her |
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| She loves balls |
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| Napping, with her ball, while I sunbathe |
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| Yadi waiting for her daddy to throw the ball |
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This "stick" started out as 10 ft but she broke it to the 6ft it is now.
Being 10 ft long didn't stop her from carrying it around like this though. |
And there you have it! Yadi in a very, very small nutshell.
After writing this post, I feel I could dedicate one post to all the various weird quirks and personality traits this dog has. I know my family would get a kick out it!
Yadi, we couldn't have asked for a better Weimaraner to bring to our family. You bring so much love and laughter to our lives. I cannot imagine my life without you and don't want to! Here's to 80+ more years (I refuse to believe my dogs will die before me)
