It's a boy

10/27/2009

John Malgesini cuddles with Lucifer, an 8-week old German shepherd puppy who recently joined the Malgesini pack. Staff photo by Tammy Malgesini It's a boy By TAMMY MALGESINI The East Oregonian Things are drastically different in the Malgesini household. Four additional paws found their way into our home this past weekend. Actually, we've been awaiting the arrival of Lucifer, a black German shepherd, since late May - some members of the pack more enthusiastically than others. My excitement began the moment I placed the puppy order with Becky Geyer at Geyer German Shepherds. She's the breeder I got Jeter from 10 years ago. When we had our Airedale terrier put down in January, it wasn't a question of if we'd get another dog, but when. My husband, John, determined immediately he wasn't ready for another Airedale, but four months later, he settled on the idea of getting a black German Shepherd. And to complicate his desire for a specialty dog even further, he wanted a black male with a short coat. Becky planned to breed No No Nanette and Fabian, whose genetics, she said, suggested a high likelihood of producing some solid black dogs. However, their doggie courtship wasn't planned until mid-summer. The wait probably wasn't such a bad thing. It had been more than a decade since we had a puppy prowling around. While puppy-proofing was something we could somewhat prepare for, explaining to Jeter what was about to transpire only led to a quizzical look and cocked head. Each time Becky's name came up on caller ID, a smile spread across my face. When the call came on Aug. 31, I knew it meant puppies. As much as I wanted to excuse the social pleasantries and blurt out, "Were there any black males?" I listened as Becky talked extensively about the whelping process. She finally said, "There were five black girls, two black boys and ..." I didn't hear the rest of the birth count. All I cared about was two black males. "I've never seen so many black dogs - they just kept coming," Becky said. When Becky called a month later to schedule adoption day, she said to watch for a picture before the end of the week. After she e-mailed a photo of Lucifer, John started to get excited. He bought food and water dishes, a collar and a crate. He said before he saw the photo, the dog wasn't real. And for Jeter, the new puppy is now quite real. He seems a little perturbed about having to share our attention with the prince of darkness. And we thought the terrible twos were bad.  Tammy Malgesini is the EO community editor. Her column, Inside my shoes, appears twice a month. You can reach her at tmalgesini@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4539.