On Friday, May 2nd we woke the kids up a little earlier than usual, loaded them in the car [still in their pjs], and drove 2 1/2 hours to meet the newest member of our family! David and Rachael were SO excited and still yawning at times too.
David asked, "Are we getting closer to our puppy?" about every 30 seconds.
That's right, we got a PUPPY!
We pulled up at the breeder's home at 9:30am and were so giddy to be there. It was finally the moment we had been waiting for!
The breeder had divided the males from the females to make it easier for us to pick out our new little boy. They were all SO cute all piled up together.
While we waited for another family to pick out their female, the kids tried to get licks from the boy pups.
David got a little nibble on his finger that time, but he thought it was hilarious.
Then it was our turn! The breeder let the boys out so we could see them up close.
David and Rachael wanted to hold them.
Cuteness overload!
We were second in line to pick out our male puppy based on when
we sent in our deposit. The first in line was a family in Missouri. The
breeder had picked out her two "favorite" males and sent lots of pictures
and descriptions of both to the family. Unbeknownst to us, the one the family didn't pick was one of our favorites.
Ryan and I narrowed our choice down to two pups. Then the breeder began telling us about each puppy's personality. One was the smallest male and very light in color. She said he was very independent and smart, and preferred to be by himself rather than with the group of pups. The other puppy [which she would later tell us was her favorite] was one of the biggest males and slightly darker than the first. The breeder described him as having the strongest hunting/retrieving drive of the whole group [which she demonstrated by throwing a frozen dove, this one always got it first AND brought it back]. He was also incredibly loving. She said he was always the first one to sit in her lap whenever she was on the floor with them.
As she was describing the second dog, I picked him up and he nuzzled into my neck. I looked down and he had his front paws crossed [something Bogie used to do]. He was precious and perfect and as soon as she finished her sentence Ryan said, "I believe we'll take that one." pointing to the one in my arms. There was no need to discuss it with me, he knew this was the one we were meant to have. We ended up picking the breeder's #1 choice and she seemed genuinely happy that he was going to be our dog since we hope to hunt with him in the future AND our kids were already in love with him.
Our happy family with its newest member.
After making our purchase official we took our new pup closer to our car to play a bit more. While more excited families arrived to make their picks, we got to know ours a little better. The breeder had prepared gift bags filled with some puppy necessities for each family to take with them. She had made enough for each pup, but since one was being sent to Missouri, she wouldn't be able to send their bag with the pup. So, she let both of our kids have one! They were so excited to open them and give the toy inside to our new baby.
We played with him and loved on him. And talked about his name.
Once we got a little more energy out of him, we loaded him up to take him to his new home.
Before leaving though, we wanted to finalize his name [so we could text our family and post it on facebook too!]. We decided on: Chief.
Why?
Well, we had been throwing around names for the weeks leading up to this day and had compiled a
very short list of our favorites. One that we always went back to was, Chief. But, it's his father's name and we just weren't sure we wanted to name him that for that reason. On our drive down I plug in the iPod and chose to listen to and album that we love but hadn't listen to in a long time- Eric Church's
Chief.
While we were listening, I remarked to Ryan that, "I really wish we could name our puppy Chief, it's such a cool name." To which he replied, "Okay, if you want to name him that, then let's do it." I still wasn't comfortable with it though and wanted to meet our pick before confirming his name. Then while the breeder was describing our two top picks she mentioned that she always nicknames each pup. And when she told us that she named her favorite, Chief, because he reminded her so much of the Sire that helped sway us toward him even more and made me more inclined to to give him the name I really wanted to give him! I'm a person who believes in fate, even when it comes to a dog's name. It seemed like fate to me.
So, now that he had a name and once he settled in, he slept the entire way home.
I have to admit that once we got in the car I cried. They were a mix of happy and sad tears. I was so excited to start this new journey with our Chief, but when I touched his soft, yellow ears I missed my Bogie something fierce. I cried about how attached I knew we would all get to him and that one day we would have to say goodbye. I cried about all the wonderful memories he is going to be in for David and Rachael as they grow up. I cried because he was now in the same spot Bogie rode in on the way to the vet the day we had to put him down. I cried because I already loved him so much.
As soon as we got home, everyone wanted to play again.
David was smitten with him immediately.
Sally, the cat, kept her distance as she checked out what we brought home. She still isn't too happy about our new addition, but I think she's realizing he's not going anywhere so she better get used to him.
When it was supposed to be nap time for David and Rachael, they were too excited to even think about sleeping. So, they "rested" in their sleeping bags with Chief and a movie. David said Chief needed to take a good nap so he would have lots of energy to play with him again.
In a few minutes, Chief had moved over to snuggle with David. And I hear David say, "Awww, Mama, come look at the puppy. He's so cute."
All weekend long we played with Chief as a family and loved every second.
There was a lot of giggling.
And more napping together by these two.
Sweetest little face.
We all enjoyed a picnic together in the front yard.
Chief loves to climb into our laps for his naps.
I think he's happy to be with us.
He should probably get used to having his picture taken...
How can one sweet face help to heal a broken heart so much?!
And this sequence of pictures absolutely turns my heart to mush.
A boy and his dog.
Yes, David and Chief have already established a very strong bond. But, don't count Rachael out, she loves her "doggy" very much too. And I love these pictures very much!
And these too!
We all love our Chief very much and are so excited and thankful to have him in our family. He has no idea how much fun he's going to have with us- the lake, the farm, the beach, trips here and there all the time, all while getting tons of love along the way. Welcome to our family, Chief, you're gonna love it!
