Two weeks ago we welcomed our latest family member, Dio. Dio is a Chabrador, so part Labrador part Chow Chow (explains the blue tongue) and we rescued him from one of the local dog shelters.
Ever since I was a little boy, I dreamed of having a Labrador. But I’ve been living in apartments and had a hectic life traveling for work. This meant I could never give a dog this size enough exercise or time. Well things have changed. In December we are moving to a new home with a large garden and plenty of space for a big companion. The time was right and we met Dio at just the perfect moment.
When a picture of a rescue dog popped up on our Facebook feeds, we knew the time had come. Off we went to the local dog rescue kennels. And as we approached the first enclosure, it took less than five minutes to fall in Love with Dio.
Why did we name him Dio?
Dio was with us for two days before we actually named him, we had been deliberating over hundreds of names and then Agnes said, what about Dio? It was so clear that this was going to be his name, and for a few reasons.
- Dio means Walnut in Hungarian and who doesn’t LOVE walnuts 😀
- Ronnie James Dio is one of my all-time favourite metal singers.
- Dio is cute and he is just the cutest thing ever.
About our little Dio
Dio is about 5 months old, he was abandoned outside the local dog shelter at two months old and had quite a few health scares. When he was first found a bigger dog in the shelter bit him in the neck. The bite got infected and he was on antibiotics for some time. As soon as he recovered another dog in the shelter bit him in the eye and he needed a couple of stiches. After that the shelter separated him from the other dogs but because he’s a big boy they where running out of options. That’s when we came along.
Regardless of what he’s been through, his character is calm, playful and loving. He can play tug and fetch for hours on end and he is so clever he learned to sit, lay, give his hand, stand up and eat treats on command within the first week. He just loves to play games that stimulate his brain.
Getting on with our Cats
We have two cat’s we rescued as well. Lucky and Luna. Lucky we found during a bike ride, he saw us and ran after us. When we stopped he tried to climb on my bike. So we picked him up and initially took him to the cat sanctuary. But by the time we got home, Agnes was already in Love with Lucky and we had no choice but to adopt him into our family.
Luna was also a rescue, but from another home. She was going to end up at the shelter and we just had to take her 🙂 (see a pattern there?)
On the first day we took it really easy, we gave the cats plenty of space and didn’t let Dio run around freely to avoid scaring them. While we expected Lucky to get upset, it was the other way around. Lucky got closer to Dio while Luna kept a distance. Now two weeks later Dio, Lucky and Luna get on much better. They occasionally touch noses and generally tolerate each other. I hope soon they will become good friends.
Ill update you soon on Dio adventures, until then stay safe and keep cooking 🙂