Permanent Dogs of the Haven
Zephyr
The first of our four dogs, and the inspiration for the Four Winds Haven. My husband chose the name Zephyr, meaning west wind, and with that name, our Haven was born. He loves deeply, and cares for us all. Of all our dogs, he’s the most in tune with us. Zephyr’s the first to come when we’re upset, and dutifully reminds us when it’s time for bed! He takes his job as emotional support dog seriously. Everything we do is for him, and for all the animals that have come before and after him.
Anore
Anore came so soon after Zephyr. We had a theme now with their names! The rescue we adopted her from told us that, based on her DNA test, she’d be 60-90 pounds. Good, we said! We wanted another big dog to compete with Zephyr. Ha! She’s 40 pounds on a good day, but 40 pounds of pure war. Anore, in truth, is a sweet little cuddle bug that will fawn over anyone that shows her affection. When it comes to her siblings, though, she’s the fiercest of them all!
Tempest
Our sweet little Tempy came to us before we expected her. To fit with the theme, I had intended to get Boreas first, so we would have a mostly white dog, a mostly brown dog, and a mostly black dog, then a tricolor dog to pull them all together. (I know, I know, you’re not supposed to pick your dogs out based on color, but I did do a lot of research into the breeds before I bought them; color was just one factor in our decisions!) I found a collie breeder near us, as we knew we wanted something from the herding group. I had been raised with a Shetland Sheepdog, and I wanted something that looked similar, but was bigger. I kept an eye on the breeders’ litters, though she didn’t have any rough coated tris available. However, this absolute chunk of a puppy was, a beautiful rough coated blue merle. I let my husband decide: do we get this perfect little chunk or wait for a tri? He loved her from the moment he saw her picture, and we claimed her as soon as we could. Good thing, too, because the breeder almost kept her! My husband held her for the first time, and held her up nose to nose with him, and her tail twirled like a helicopter! While all the dogs are both of ours, Zephyr and Tempest have absolutely chosen my husband as Their Person.
Boreas
Boreas is the final of our four dogs, his name literally meaning north wind. He’s a purebred Belgian Tervuren/Belgian Sheepdog (the breeding and registering of these dogs is kind of complicated, as he’s a Belgian Tervuren on paper, but has the coat of a Belgian Sheepdog. In most other countries, they’re the same breed, different coat types. Just not in the US.) We wanted a breed again from the herding group, but that could keep up with Tempest. She was a little spitfire by then, and overwhelming at times for the other dogs. She needed something to keep her occupied when the other dogs were tired, besides us! And boy did Boreas do that, and so much more. He’s the most eager to please of our four dogs, and is made of pure chaos. I have never seen a dog with so much raw potential, and such a desire to use it. Boreas is my companion, more than the others. Anore is like my child, but Boreas is ready to take on the whole world with me. (Anore will be waiting for a big nap together afterwards!) He completes our family, which I always knew he would, but I am in awe watching it happen all the same.