Today the last fortress of the peace, our sofa was conquered by Syyti. He jumped up and seemed to be at least as surprised by his success as I was. Sepe won't be happy... Until now, he has been lying on the sofa in the evenings when Syyti has been playing on the floor.

I have lifted him up only when I wanted to cuddle him on the sofa. I hope he will become a lap dog such as Silva used to be. I adore to take a nap with the puppy. Pasi is sure that he grows out of it :(

Photo by Pasi Perkiö

Today Syyti also met some strange creatures, at least from his point of view. Our neighbour has Finnhorses and today it was the first time Syyti met them. Raili the filly was as undecidedly curious about Syyti as he was about her. The stallions, well, they were amused...

Tonight I had to phone to Syyti's breeder, Miia, to ask for mental support. I agreed, that I just had got what I wished for - a little crank contrarian ( = änkyräkommunisti)

Earlier today, Syyti decided he wanted to go on an exploration under the sauna's porch. I had another idea; no way. There might be anything there, starting from the mice killed by rodenticide (spread by previous house owners). As Syyti just kept returning his excavations, I put him on a long leash thinking that it might be easier to haul him back. When I did that, he went berserk. Good grief that little creature put up a fierce fight...

After all, I had to lower my esthetical standards and Pasi installed a temporary fence to prevent Syyti's future expeditions. Then it was Pasi's turn to put up with the little hooligan...

Sepe is Vänttilä's watch dog. He's just getting a bit deaf, so but he tries to keep up appearances. He's already 10,5 years old but in good shape for his age. This photo was taken in February, when there were quite a bit more snow than now...

Today we took Syyti to meet Sepe's dad, Pyry and his family. Sepe and Pyry have a love-hate relationship, except without the love bit... But Pyry (pictured below) was a real gentleman and didn't even growl to our little lad. Veikko and Helena didn't growl either, not even when Syyti pooped on their door sill...

Everything has went well on Syyti's first days at home. Except that Sepe doesn't like him at all. But, that was expected. When Sepe himself came home, Silva growled at him for a couple of days until she couldn't help herself but started to play with the newcomer.


So, instead of playing with Sepe. Syyti has played with his dinosaur, hedgehog, and us.

Today it was the day we have been waiting for years... The new member of the family finally came home. Previously he was known as Matti but from now on, his name is Syyti. The strange name came from my grandfater, who called all the dogs by that name.

Syyti was bred by Miia Mustonen, Muttaburra kennel. You can read more of Syyti's early life in Miia's blog.

Here is Syyti with his proud "mom" and "dad", ready to him home. Photo by Miia Mustonen.

Today Miia visited us with all her dogs and puppies. At first, Sepe was separated from the puppies, just to avoid any accidents. When the pups got tired, he also got to meet them. And everything went well. He came to check the situation when Pasi played with Seppo.


I had to put a ribbon around Matti's neck to be sure of that "our own" puppy didn't get lost. We both are so smitten with him that Miia had to count the pups several times before leaving...

Today I photographed Willa's pups. It took three ladies' and lot of patience until all five were decently standing...

There are now two favourites: Paula (above) and Matti (below). Who's the right one for us?

Today we visited Miia and played with Willa's pups, who are now one month old. I wonder why this one kid caught our attention...