Welcome Home, Sir Henry

After much anticipation and many hound-inspired dreams, Sir Henry finally found his way to our home today! Henry, we've been waiting for you our whole lives, we just didn't know it yet. Currently Sir Henry is curled up next to me on the couch napping. After 7 hours with our new pup, we've found that his life consists of 4 things: treats, snoozin', tracking squirrels, and running.
If he's not outside zig-zagging his away through the yard on his retractable leash, he's on the couch snoozing. And if he's not there? He's sitting pretty in the kitchen waiting for something, anything, to drop onto the floor so he can snatch it up and swallow it in 1 bite. I think Henry is bonding with us already, which is awesome news. He's following Chris nonstop around the house and napped with me on the love seat. Mikey, Chris' little brother, got him to fetch some of his toys and play tug-o-war for a bit. He's already learned that Chris' dad is the biggest pushover for food donations and Chris' mom will sweet talk to him until his big, floppy ears fall off.
 When we first pulled up he went crazy excited about the huge yard and all the squirrels and birds in the woods. We let him on the long leash and followed him wherever he went, so he had the whole yard scouted out in about 5 minutes. After covering the yard we brought him inside, which turned out to be a little trickier. Turns out Sir Henry isn't fond of confined spaces so the laundry room, which connects to a bathroom, proved to be nothing short of terrifying for him. So did the area between the dining room table and the wall. But with coaxing, praising, sweet talk, and many treats, we finally got him to realize that the dryer was not going to engulf him and no one is ever going to lock him into the bathroom. Now he's moving in and out of the whole house like he was born here - except the stairs. The stairs are going to prove to be a whole new deal. We got him to go up to the first step with treats and some lovin' but I have a feeling it's going to be a while before he's running up and down the steps like a pro. The good news is he never puts his tail between his legs in a scared way, he's wagging and excited the whole time. So he's excited and wants to, but he's just not quite sure. We'll get there eventually. It's only his first day and I don't want to push it. I think after we master the upstairs we'll move to the downstairs, which is a little scarier for him. So far we've got him to poke his head around the corner and look at me sitting halfway down. Henry wags his tail, stretches out as far as possible, keeping his legs in the hallway, and tries to touch me with his nose. I can't help but laugh, he's such a smart guy.
 We came across a few dogs at a rest stop on our way to Chris' house from his foster home and I was so proud of Henry. He wagged his tail politely, looked very interested, but didn't bark! He saw 3 dogs at the rest stop and 2 on the street at Chris' house but didn't let out even a yelp. How far he's come!
 We're all exhausted now and will probably call it a night soon after we put on All Dogs Go to Heaven, my movie choice or our first night with our new pup. Henry is already asleep, leaning against Chris.
 Next up: blog about Henry's first trail run with us!
 Treats and snoozin', snoozin' and treats,
Katie, Chris, and Henry