Adopting a New Puppy | Meet Heidi

Introducing our newest family member...Heidi!

The day we met; love at first sight.

I'll answer a few of the most frequently asked questions now!

Where did you get her?

Mommy & Me Rescue in Mount Carmel, PA. They pulled Heidi's pregnant mother from a shelter and fostered her and the entire litter of 8 until they were weaned. Then everyone went up for adoption!

What breed is she?

Well she's a rescue, but mom looked an awful lot like an Australian Cattle Dog, ACD for short. So we're pretty sure Heidi is part cattle dog. Would LOVE to do a dog DNA test on her to learn about her breeds, but it's rather expensive.

Did you choose a deaf dog on purpose?

Nope! I had no idea she was deaf, and neither did the rescue. I found out while conducting a few tests to determine her personality and see if she would be a likely candidate to enjoy our unique lifestyle. Our dog trainer we work with, Laura from DoggyU, suggested a recovery test. You purposefully startle the pup to see how they react. It's okay for the dog to be scared at first, but you want a puppy that recovers quickly when they realize they're safe, and then becomes curious and investigates whatever startled them.

So I dropped a metal dog dish on a hard floor not four feet behind her while she wasn't looking. It was quite loud, but she didn't react at all. It was pretty obvious she couldn't hear, and the next day, the vet confirmed it.

While we weren't seeking out a deaf dog, we're very happy to have one. It gives us a lot to learn and she is already very special to us.

Will she be in the show?

That's the goal, yes! Our dogs are family first and cast members second, but we very much chose her because we thought she'd enjoy having the kind of job we can give her. Cattle dogs are a high energy working breed and like to be mentally and physically challenged. Heidi is a great fit for us.

In fact, she's in the show already...Check out Heidi's first (ADORABLE) trick in the video below!

If you have more questions, please send them to me! In the meantime, here she is snoozing with Dextre and Mabel backstage.

Surveying her new territory in a sweater two sizes too big for her.

Dying of the cute.

We picked up a bunch of puppy essentials from amazon. In fact, I may have gone a little crazy shopping for her. Here are some toys we recommend (these are affiliate links).

* Pet IQ Interactive Treat Ball
* StarkMark Bob-A-Lot Interactive Dog Toy
* PetSafe Twist and Treat
* PetSafe Busy Buddy Barnacle
* Kong Wobbler
* Nylabone Puppy Chew

A tired puppy is a happy puppy.

Heidi is an absolute delight. We're so grateful to have her. She's a very clever girl, so keep an eye out for new routines from her in the circus show soon!

If you'd like to support the blog and the circus for free, just use our links to get to amazon for your regular shopping. We'll get a small commission from your purchase at no cost to you, even if you don't buy whatever crazy thing we link you to! Thank you!

Stella eventually ate this pumpkin!

Keep in touch with Circus Stella: Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter.

Join our Super Rad Mailing List  

Read my previous blogpost here.
Read my next blogpost here.

Disclosure; This blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide means for sites torn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

Living in a Van Down By the River; The Vermont Edition

Dextre and I would like to move north someday. Perhaps one too many hot and sweaty circus show days in 110F heat index has lead to this dream of a cooler climate: a place with a real winter where we'll need snow shoes to go hiking. Last week we scouted out Vermont, one of the states we both agree on, and we took all five dogs along with us in the van.

The best part? *Spoiler Alert* I got to meet my favorite blogger, Liz Thames from Frugalwoods.com!

This was just too cool! 

We slept the first night at the Vermont Welcome Center in Bennington, which was awesome because it's FREE. Plus they have a gorgeous facility with a helpful staff, tons of information on the state, and delicious hot coffee for travelers.

It rained the whole first day, but we didn't let that stop us. The Manchester Dog Park was high on our list, because we wanted this vacation to be just as fun for our dogs as it was for us. Vermont is FULL of dog parks and dog friendly places if you have a hound about town...or five! Manchester itself was a cute town with lots of neat shops and a fabulous bookstore. If you ever find yourself there, definitely check out Northshire Bookstore.

Quechee Gorge

From Manchester we headed to the Quechee State Park to find our campsite and hike to the gorge. This incredible chasm was carved by glaciers 13,000 years ago. It's 165 feet deep and you can park at the the little souvenir shop and view it from the bridge on route 4. We walked to it from our campsite, that's how close we were. You can also hike up to check out the dam, which is stunning.

From here we ventured into Woodstock to see the national park and the Marsh-Billing-Rockefellar Estate. There was a cow milking demonstration, so we thought, why not? and went to that. Pretty neat. I had no idea cows could produce 7 gallons per day. WOW

The highlight of this little foray was the maple favored ice cream I got to eat at the end of the tour. Vermont has maple flavored everything, including...cotton candy! Then found another dog park for the girls. Thanks Vermont for being so full of dog parks!

My absolute favorite part of the trip was meeting Liz and her beautiful family. They invited us to their beautiful 66 acre homestead and I got to read to their two young daughters. I've been reading her blog for years and simply can't recommend it highly enough. Let me link you to some of my favorites...

Less Makeup, More Confidence: My Frugal Beauty Manifesto
That Time We Bought A Homestead
Why Be Frugal? One Word: Options
How to NOT Pursue Financial Independence

Earlier this year, Liz became a published author when her book debuted. It's really good. Meet the Frugalwoods: Achieving Financial Independence Through Frugal Living

And finally, if you'd like to become better with money yourself, she has a comprehensive and completely free challenge to help you on your path to frugality. I've done the challenge twice and it's both eye opening and useful. Sign up here: The Uber Frugal Month: The Ultimate Frugal Guide To Saving More Money Than You Ever Thought Possible

Homemade gifts from Liz, how exciting!?!

On our last day we drove out to Rutland to check out the town and surrounding suburbs. Realistically Rutland would be a good choice for us because it has the things we like nearby: Aldi, Crossfit, airport, hiking, skiing, etc.

I put together a fun video of our adventure, check it out below!

Thanks so much for reading. Stay tuned because as some of you may know, we adopted a puppy this week and I cannot wait to blog about her!

Would you support Circus Stella for free? Great! Just use our links to get to Amazon, then do your normal shopping and the blog will receive a commission at no cost to you. You don't even have to buy this delicious stuff, just whatever you'd normally purchase. Thank you!

Or if you'd like a free trial of AmazonFresh,  Kindle Unlimited, or even Amazon Prime, please remember to use our links! Thank you friends.

Keep in touch with Circus Stella;  Youtube, Instagram, Facebook, & Twitter

Join our Super Rad Mailing List! 

Read the previous blogpost here.   |   Read the next blogpost here.

Disclosure; This blog is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an 

affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by 

advertising and linking to amazon.com. Thank you for using our links.