Introducing Kasama!

One of the elements of my life that I have regretted continually over the past several years has been the absence of a pet--specifically a dog. Increasingly as bw and I move through our daily and weekly activities, we have noticed the dogs around. It rarely mattered what kind of dog, whether pure-breed or mutt, whether gigantic or medium size (not too much into lap-dogs or wannabe's). As long as it was a dog, we noticed him/her and I felt a healthy jealousy (yes, there is such a thing).

Well, over the past 2 weekends we have driven to The Dalles 3 times, to the animal shelter there called "Home at Last." The first trip, on a Friday, proved futile because the dogs we were interested in were both being kept in foster homes. But they would be returned for their Saturday, weekly "adopt a pet" event. So we returned the following day and walked both "Coolio" and "Joey." We decided to adopt "Joey" and arranged for his final shots and micro-chip and that we would get him the following Sat, which was over this past weekend.





Well, the next problem or concern was to find a new name for him. We did not want "Joey" to get confused in any sense of the term with our son Joseph/Joe. So I asked bw to think of some words from Tagalog that would include the "s", "t", and/or "k" sounds. Finally we settled on "Kasama." And here are some pics of the newest member of our family:

No, he's not very big. But he is definitely a dog and too big to be a lap dog. :)

Yes, I can see that the ears (and tail) have been docked. I hate the practice! We did it years ago to our doberman, Gabe, and I vowed never to do it again. But Kasama came this way. And we like him the way he is. :)

He was listed as "Rat Terrier/mix." They explained that virtually all the dogs they get at the shelter come without papers; so they have to list them as "mix." So we don't know if he is pure Rat Terrier or actually mix. But at least he is mostly Rat Terrier (cousin to Jack Russell Terrier). As with other Terriers, this breed can be hyperactive and not condusive to condo life. But I also read that RTs easily adapt to the lifestyle of their home. And Kasama seems to be doing so already: Sometimes playing and other times (such as when we are relaxing) going easily to his bed and catching some z's!

"Yes, Kasama, one of us does need to go on a diet!"

So you want to know what the name means? :)

"Kasama" means "Companion!"