Ruby's pups spent a day together at Carmel beach yesterday before saying goodbye to brother "Tak."  Sharon, Tak's new mom,  flew into San Jose on Monday evening and had a "red eye" back east on Tuesday night.  That left us with a whole day to have some fun with the pups.  The weather had been quite cold these past few days, but we had an absolutely beautiful day in Carmel yesterday with the temperature topping out at about 60 degrees F.  Tonya brought Lego, and Ruby had her first taste of "freedom" since having the litter in October -- boy did she run!!!  Both Lego & Ruby enjoyed splashing in the waves and playing frisbee. 

Carmel is a very dog friendly beach and the pups met a number of other dogs that were out walking with their families.  There was one particularly pudgy pug that really loved the pups and found them very curious.  Of course, where there are cute puppies, people gather around, so the pups met a lot of new people, too. Big dogs, small dogs, big people, small people ....all very friendly, and the pups socialized like little champs.  After about an hour or so, we returned to the car and loaded up.  The pups were so tired, they immediately went to sleep.

While the pups were sleeping, we had a very lovely and leisurely luncheon at Casanova's -- wild Pacific salmon dish that was to die for.  From there, we toured 17-mile drive and headed back to San Jose so Sharon might have a few hours to nap before her red eye flight. 

I took the pups back home for baths and final preparations for Tak leaving.  The pups all had a bath and quite a rigorous playtime before calming down to sleep.  I spent some quiet time with Tak and then Lance, Ruby, Tak and I headed to the hotel to pick up Sharon.  Ruby said goodbye in the car, and I walked into the airport lobby to help Sharon while she checked her bag.  I gave Tak a kiss and told him to be a good boy -- my last vision was watching Sharon and Tak disappear up the escalator towards security and their gate.

The dynamics of the three pups left at home now is "quiet."  No one pup has emerged as dominant yet.  Perhaps they have noticed that their siblings are beginning to disappear and they are worried so they are on their best behavior...