I first saw an Irish Wolfhound at my vet's office when I was a child. I had my mini-poodle up on the exam table, when the vet's large wolfhound calmly wandered in, inspected Pierre's undercarriage, then wandered out. I was awed how calm he was, and how he was equal height with the table...I was hooked. I hesitated to get one for many years due to their shorter lifespans, but as I've gotten older, I am more into quality than quantity. One moved in down the street from us in 2004, and I decided that after I completed my new home building and move, I'd get a puppy. The move took nearly two and a half years, and after surviving Amore's puppyhood, I wasn't overly enthused about getting another puppy so soon...so I began to look for an adult rescue. Unfortunately for me (but fortunately for the breed), they are hard to come by as rescues, so in February, almost caved in and bought a puppy from a breeder down south....then learned of Brietta, available at our local IWANE rescue. She apparently was kept outdoors in a kennel in her old home, and was a bit thin when we got her, so we took care of that right away. She fit in so well, and was perfect with the others from the start. She clung to me like velcro, and would follow me from room-to-room for a long time. I named her Brietta, an Irish name meaning "strong", which she is in many ways. She is a 105 lb lap dog, and will actually jump into your lap at times. She's been an expensive addition, as she's needed two surgical procedures and a couple of hospital stays since I've gotten her, due to her previous lack of care....but it's been well worth it! She's in therapy training, and is a true "gentle giant." 

Lucky seven! On 07/07/07, my 7th dog came to join the pack: Bel, a six month old Great Pyrenees puppy. I had been on the pyr rescue sites looking for one for quite some time, as I'd been a life-long fan (admittedly, my interested developed from viewing episodes of Belle and Sebastian as a child!)  I had the opportunity to interact with real ones through work as a teenager, and via my business as an adult, and hoped that one day I'd have one. After Brietta came home in February, I put the search on hold, and wanted to see how things would go having one large/possibly giant dog in the household, before thinking of adding any more. It's worked out well with her, and since we have plenty of room here, on Saturday night I agreed to take (on very short notice!) this beautiful pup, when her owner felt that she could no longer care for her. She's adjusted quite well to our pack here, and she's very intelligent. She rarely barks, and has only had one accident, which was more my fault than hers. She's a little shy and wary of strangers, but we can work on that. She's starting to warm up more, and I think she'll make a nice therapy dog after training. She loves to come on car rides, and had been great with baths and grooming. Will add more photos as they become available!