Well friends, it’s official. Our Stevie-girl is adopted!! Very soon, she will be going home.

home? i thought home was under this couch with the lost kibble?

The sweet family we met two weeks ago fell in love with Stevie instantly when they read her blog, and even more deeply when they came over in person to hang out with our little girl. And why shouldn’t they? She was showing off her most spastic enthusiastic behavior during their visit, complete with barking, mouthiness, and crazy zoomies — three behaviors that almost never show up in regular life with Stevie. Luckily Paul and Liz are very experienced dog people and were able to see through Stevie’s crazy and impolite antics to the sweet, gentle lady hiding inside.

You see, Paul and Liz love another dog — a sweet Boxer / Pit mix named Rosie, who left this world earlier in the year after falling prey to a brain tumor. Rosie was their first child and their first dog love. They will always love Rosie, but in Stevie they saw something of Rosie. In Stevie’s sensitive brown eyes they caught a glimpse of the same sweetness, tenderness, and the big, jubilant personality that Rosie had.

Rosie's beautiful smile

Paul, Liz, and their two-year-old son Henry live just a couple miles away from us in a DC neighborhood called Petworth. It’s a diverse, developing community with a little bit of excitement going on, and a nice, neighborly, quiet feel to it that Stevie will love. At her new home’s doorstep she has plenty of neighbors to turn into friends, lots of fun festivals, markets, and dog-friendly establishments to visit, and a huge network of parks and trails where she will enjoy runs, hikes, and adventures with her new family.

Petworth is also home to one of DC’s most popular blogs, Prince of Petworth. Every year, PoP runs the “Coolest Pet in Petworth” contest. We sure hope that Liz and Paul enter Stevie in the contest this year. Knowing all we know about her, we think there’s a pretty good chance she could win!

**We will have a big non-Stevie announcement on Thursday and hope everyone will be as excited as we are. Check out our Facebook page for little hints and previews all week long!**

“Hello Montgomery County Humane Society folks,

We’re sending this note attached to our application because we just weren’t sure that it was clear enough in our short answers that Stevie is supposed to be our little girl. We met her over the weekend with her foster family and really connected with her. We love her sweetness, her energy, her goofiness. We are excited to take her for runs (Paul), to play fetch with her on end (Liz), and to see if she’ll play in the sprinkler or the baby pool (Henry).

We know, from experience, that there is always a transition period – sometimes a few iterations – when someone new joins the family. We know that it is our responsibility to make that transition as smooth as possible for Stevie – by giving her love and calm and warmth (and a basic obedience class). We will do that. We know, from experience, that sometimes dogs bark, and jump around, and knock you over (especially if you are a toddler). We think all of that is fine – and believe that when someone is in your family, there are moments when everyone has to adjust a little. While it could mean bringing in a trainer, it might also mean adjusting our own behavior and routine so that it works for everyone. That’s just what families do for each other.

It surprises us a little that we feel the way we do about Stevie – we lost our sweet Rosie-girl this Spring to a brain tumor and it absolutely broke our hearts. We thought for sure that we wouldn’t be ready this soon. But then we looked up, and Stevie was there. We realized that, while Rosie will always have a place in our hearts, our love for her also created the space in our family for another dog, for Stevie – and the knowledge and ability to be the kind of home that she deserves.

We want to be Stevie’s forever family and hope that you’ll consider our application.

Thank you,

Liz, Paul, and Henry”

Stay tuned . . .

**We will have a big non-Stevie announcement on Thursday and hope everyone will be as excited as we are about it!**

Hi guys, it’s me! Stevie Wonder!

Do you want to know the absolute silliest thing about my foster brother Chick? He does not even like to go swimming in the doggie pool, and he does not even like to do gymnastics in there!  Can you believe it? He says it’s because he’s from Texas and dogs from Texas aren’t wusses like dogs from Merryland and that he don’t need no stinkin’ baby pool, but I know he’s just as hot as I am when it’s summertime and we’re outside.

As you may recall from a couple weeks ago, I am a most excellent swimmer, both in big waters like lakes and in little waters like my doggie pool. Sometimes when my foster mama takes me running on the trail near her house, she lets me take a quick swim in Sligo Creek when we stop to rest, too. She says it’s a good way for me to cool off. I say it’s a good way for me to do my Stevie-thing.

Anyhow. Remember a little while back when my mama showed you me and Chick both wading in my pool together? Here we are, just so you remember:

Well what mama didn’t show you is what a spectacle it was, getting Sir Chick to get in the pool with me! He hemmed and hawed and made excuses until finally, I came up with a brilliant plan. I would get in the pool v e r y   s l o w l y, one foot at a time, pausing between each one to show him how non-scary it was. I spent an extra specially long amount of time on step three-feet-in just so I could show him that although I love the swimming best of all, I still stand in solidarity with my brother sometimes by leaving one foot out of the pool with him. Aren’t I such a nice sister?

After Stevie and I went running yesterday evening, we had to rush home and clean up fast — me with a shower, Stevie with a check in the mirror and a quick spray of binaca in her mouth — because a very special visitor was coming over to take our lady for an evening stroll.

As she is known to do, she impressed him with her most polite, modest, and feminine of behavior:

After that ladylike display, we were off.

We rounded the corner, and what did we discover? A block party! With all our favorite neighborhood friends, including our good pals who have been taking Stevie for daytime adventures while we toil away at work.

For her new special friend, Stevie showed off a move that Chick has taught her, using her neighborhood buddy Amanda as a prop: the “Hard To Get”

And it worked. He was smitten. But in the end, her tongue told him all he really needed to know about the reciprocity of her feelings:

Stay tuned . . .

“Stevie and Chick thought the rainy weather was a real bummer until they discovered the joys of cosmetic dentistry.”

YOUR caption?

It was the doggie prom at our house this weekend, and both Stevie Wonder and Sir Chick got to go. They got special prom outfits that fostermom picked up at the thrift store for them — a sparkly sequined Hello Kitty skirt for Miss Stevie, and a blue paisley tie for Sir Chick.

Unfortunately, we didn’t give them adequate time to find dates, so they ended up having to go with each other. This did NOT make them happy.

Even though they were initially reluctant to be each other’s date, they agreed to go since they both love to party in general and dance in particular.

At the end of the evening, both were quite pooped and fell asleep still wearing their party clothes.

For more info on adopting Stevie Wonder, click here or contact us at DCpetographer [at] gmail [dot] com.

First, take a surprise offer from a neighbor/friend to take Stevie running while you’re at work. For best results, use a neighbor/friend who is a longtime pit bull lover and rescuer.

Add two ultra-awesome boys who love dogs and especially pitties.

Toss with plenty of sunshine and a lush green creek-side trail. Mix for about 40 minutes.

Once the Stevie is nice and panty, add a Chick. Sprinkle with generous petting.

Dip the Stevie and Chick in the baby pool.

Put in crate to set for 5 hours.

In the evening, enjoy your sleepy Stevie!

Thanks for giving our kiddos such a nice surprise yesterday, Amanda and boys!