Dog

Look out world, the Pletcher family is getting a dog.

This has been coming for some time.  I am the one most hesitant because I know that I will be the dog's primary care care giver.  How do I know this?  I was the fish's primary care giver.  Arlington wanted a fish - and for 2 years, I was the only one who fed it twice a day. 

Arlington and Mat have wanted a dog for awhile.  I put my foot down with a big fat "no" while we lived in Connecticut because we were both working full time and it just seemed so unfair to the dog.

But when talk came of us moving, and me staying home, the subject of the dog resurfaced.  And Arlington was taking the move so hard, we talked about the possibility of a dog.

Now that our Connecticut house is "sold" and out of our hands, we feel like we are settled enough to take this on.  For the last two months we have been deep in research of what kind of dog would be a good fit for our family.  Finley is actually mildly allergic to dogs.  She breaks out in hives where a dog licks her.  So we knew it had to be something hypoallergenic.

My inlaws have the cutest little terrier named Lucky.  He is sweet to the kids and Finley has no problems when he is around.  We looked at terriers (my first choice) but Mat wanted something a little bigger.

We started looked at Cockapoos.  Thought we were sold.  But STILL - Mat thought "not quite big enough".  I started to invision this enormous dog taking up my whole couch and house.

What he wanted was a goldendoodle.  We started to do more research.  Size?  About 40 pounds.  Not bad.  Hypoallergenic?  yes.  Good with kids?  Excellent - golden retrievers and poodles are on the list as number one and number two best dogs for families with young kids.  Cute?  You betcha. 

I was still a little hesitant.  Once the house sold, Mat found a breeder and I followed up.  We had a great talk about the breed, and about how it would fit into our family.  She encouraged us to come and meet her puppies from her latest litter, and get a feel for their temperment.  Meet the parents.  See what we thought.

I talked to Mat today and asked him what he thought about us taking a ride to go and see.  He agreed it would be a good idea.  Since I was the one that was the most concerned, I just needed to take a look at the dogs in person.  Having Mat's parents here proved to be the perfect time for us to take a ride.  They have always had dogs, so they knew exactly what to ask.

We got to see 4 puppies.  Many of the puppies had already been adopted, but there were two girls and two boys left.  One was extremely chubby, so he was out.  One girl was REALLY hyper (I already live with that times three) so she was out.  So that left one boy and one girl.  There was another family there the same time as us, and they decided on the girl.  We fell for the boy.  (which I am sure will make Mat happy).  He was cute, sweet, quiet, and curious.  He wasn't hyper.  He followed my kids all over the place.  He came right over to us when we bent down and gave us a little lick.  He seemed like he had a great personality.

So - we found out dog.  The kids want to call him Scooby.  He is 8 weeks old.  Golden brown, wavy hair, and as soft as a fleece blanket.  He has a beautiful face - just a perfect little teddy bear.  He will be coming home to our family on either Thursday or Friday this week after he has his last set of shots.

I wish we had taken the camera.  He was really cute.  But here is a picture of him from the website:

He looks lighter here than he is - he is a bit darker in person.  But we were told he will lose this fur anyway, and will be lighter.  His mom is a light gold golden retriever, and dad is a white poodle.

We took the plunge.  I am anxious to get the puppy home and see how he fits into our family dynamic.  Wish us luck.  We are going to need it.