Ihana…Official DOG IN THE KITCHEN ™
After over 30 years of raising and showing chows, when our last chow sadly left us, a charming breed wormed its way into our hearts that was fairly new to the USA , but a national treasure in Finland. The Finnish Lapphund. Our first “lappy” being a handsome and gentle boy we named ONNI who we lost suddenly at 10 years of age in 2022.
Ruling the Test Kitchen with an iron paw
Ihana and her bestie “Onni” in Yachats Oregon
Our pack was shattered including the heart of his best friend and partner in crime, another lappy named IHANA which means “lovely” in Finnish. Her registered name is Bearspaw Baby I’m a Star (after the Prince song) and she has certainly lived up to her name. At this time I’m writing , Ihana just turned 9 years old in 2026.
She is the light of our lives and oh so different in personality and temperament than easygoing Onni. Being the only “child” in our home now, she has become even more spoiled than before and insists on being the Sandra Miller Studio spokesmodel for DOG IN THE KITCHEN.
Ihana is a spitfire, burbling over with joy and emotion from the time she wakes up until the time she goes to bed. Always keeping tabs on me in the studio this little lady never quits moving. Shes like a swarm of busy bees all wrapped up in a hive waiting to burst out . Her light and energy are contagious!
IHANAS TURN ONS
- Food……sweet peppers are her weakness.
- Roadtrips, especially to the Oregon coast (for crabs)
- Crabs-she’s famous for her epic crab addiction and toy collection
- She loves social media…..Ihana’s fans are the BEST!!!
- Eye rolling…I swear she practices this to get it just right
- Solving puzzle toys. At 4 AM
- Helping Mama garden by digging for moles
- Being the supermodel for Mom’s artwork and posing for photos
- Playing hide and seek under daddy’s desk while we frantically search the house for her.
- Hearing her own bark echo in parking lots (aka barking lots) and on the beach
- Kicking leaves and sand every few steps on our walks
- Taking up mama’s side of the bed at night
- Belly scratches and being groomed
- Bossing around the “hired help” by herding us. That’s is a Lappys job in Finland, to herd reindeer
- Vacationing at “Camp Becky’ – her fave auntie in the whole wide world !
IHANAS TURN OFFS
- Other dogs. Never liked them….never will (other than Beckys dogs)
- Motorized bikes and skateboards. Never liked them….never will
- Being ignored…the barks just get louder
- CUTIES oranges…that was Onni’s thing…she never liked them…never will
