Meet Oakley

For many reasons we decided to leave our dog (...s; there was two, but one got tagged by a cobra a few months before we left...) behind when we left Brunei.
We found our Jay a lovely new home, and in many ways he was a lot better off getting to stay in the environment he was used to. We do miss him but get photos every now and then of what he's up to, so we "keep in touch"!

But we have also missed having a pet. A few of our friends here have dogs, and some of our friends and family back home have dogs; each time we've spent time in a house with a dog recently we have talked more and more about how we would go about having one here.
We kept telling the kids that it was impossible, because what would we do with it when we go away for our long summer holiday for example? Who would look after it then now that we don't have a maid anymore?

Then we thought, well, if other people make it work - so can we! It will have to work!
Meet Oakley:

Oakley is from a litter of seven puppies by a street dog, rescued by Animal Action, a group of volunteers dedicated entirely to helping the animals here in the region. There are so many dogs and puppies abandoned here, in need of good homes, I didn't want to buy a dog, I really wanted to adopt.

This is Oakley's mum Whitney, together with another one of his siblings. All the seven puppies from his litter were very different in look, size, built and colouring. I'm sure there are many different kinds of breeds crossed in these little puppies, but surely some Saluki, with those long legs and slim face.

We picked Oakley out not just because his cute looks, but his personality was really charming too. We went to visit two different litters who needed new homes, and got a few favourites, but Oakley caught the attention of both of us straight away.

He is now on day 2 in his new home, and he is still a bit unsure about going into the kitchen (too much noise out there), and he whimpers a bit for his Mummy and siblings, which is completely normal.
We have got him treats and chew toys, and we are working hard on the potty training; and guess who had to sleep (well... rest...) on the sofa downstairs last night to keep him company... Zzzzzz... It's like having a newborn all over again!