Surprise!!!

Czari was not what you would call a "planned" addition to the family...we had no previous intention of getting another dog, let alone a large dog, of this breed, at the time.

However, once in a while life takes an unexpected turn. We came into contact, quite by accident, with a breeder of Carpathian dogs from Romania. We were intrigued. For starters there were the stories...dogs that fight with bears and wolves on a daily basis, yet still remain sweet and loyal to humans. Truthfully, we assumed it was mostly tales and peoples' imaginations. The dogs looked quite common at first glance.

Then there was the possibility that this particular puppy may not find a good home. While most Carpathians have a greyish coat, some have black and white. Although accepted in the breed standard, the color is not the most popular choice among buyers. By the time we found this out, some members of the family had already gotten attached to this puppy...the rest were shown pics...

Sooo...we simply couldn't let him go! Especially while knowing he may not make it due to something as banal as coat color...(He has grown into a perfect specimen. Our faith was definitely rewarded!). We had already raised Zuzi succesfully...what's one more anyway?

First difference between Czari and Zuzi that we noticed... the Carpathian Shepherd mother took the whole litter off into the forest for 3 days and didn't come back...turns out, she was teaching them to hunt.

Second difference: Czari, did NOT soil his cage on the flight from Romania to Canada...that would be 9 uninterrupted hours of flight time!

And that was just the beginning... :)