puppy fever

My sister-in-law in Turku is actively looking for a dog of the bichon type, perhaps a Maltese, and it's exciting. Discussion of the hunt awakened a powerful wistfulness in me, especially because Wax has been periodically attempting to prepare me for the possibility that we can't get the boatshed/external garage de-mildewed enough to build a chicken coop in it, which would mean I can't have chickens after all. I've been planning all along to probably get a dog once the house is done being renovated, but now I really don't want to wait (I still totally plan to wait, because I have to, but I don't have to like it).

If I did want to get one right now I'd probably be in trouble though, because there's an understandable puppy boom in progress and there are waiting lists everywhere. I want a good Finnish farm dog that's adapted for the climate and the task of watching smaller animals and isn't too genetically prone to disease, which almost certainly means I want a Finnish lapphund. I've been looking at pictures of them for a while and thinking about it. And bombarding people with said pictures and factoids about the various native Finnish domesticated animal breeds.