Last week, we picked up our new puppy.
Let me back up...
Two weeks ago, I got an email from Josh with the subject line, "It's a Sign..." all that was inside was a link.
It led to a pet adoption website that Josh had heard about on the radio. As I scrolled through the photos, I thought, "why not?"
We'd been talking about getting a dog for a while but were either outpriced or too late for some of the new litters in our area.
I scrolled a little further and came across a puppy named Squirrely Dan. His sweet eyes and brindle fur drew me in, so I replied, "Call and ask about Dan!"
A few minutes later, I got a text saying, "I submitted an application. We'll see!"
The next day, as we pulled into a little town called Greune to have lunch with some friends, the approval email came through. We were told we'd been matched with Squirrely Dan and, once we signed the contract and paid our deposit, we could arrange a pick-up date.
We paused, in the middle of an antique store, to sign the contract. And just like that, we had a dog!
Our friends bought us this lovely 'Ceramic Dan' to commemorate the occasion:
On the drive home, we talked through some options for names. While we each had a name the other strongly disliked, we instantly agreed on Charlie. (I also tried to float the idea of referring to each other as 'man' and 'woman' instead of 'dad' and 'mom' so we don't become the people who wear "Dog Mom" shirts or refer to him as our firstborn, but Josh wasn't having it.)
We stopped by his foster family's home on Saturday to get a feel for his temperament and see how he felt about us, but as we loaded back in the car, we were already scrolling PetSmart and Petco to make sure everything was in place when we brought him home in a few days.
Late Monday afternoon we unpacked his crate, laid out his bowls, and drove out to pick him up.
He settled right into his bed and, though he frequently got up to see where we were going, or to chase his tennis ball, he'd always plop right back in his bed.
Needless to say, we're both more than a little smitten...
When we picked him up, he already had an appointment to be neutered. We thought it might cause a little regression, since he's clearly in some pain, add to that the fact that he seems to be having trouble getting used to sleeping alone after sharing a crate with his brother for the first few weeks of his life, we were up before the sun the next morning.
Fortunately, he loves to watch tv (he seems particularly fond of Dr. Carter's voice on ER) so we watched an episode of Nadiya's Time to Eat while sort of trying to fall back to sleep.
Not only is he keeping us from sleeping, he's keeping us from being productive too! This little dude wiggled his way into my lap this morning as I attempted to work. I had to prop my laptop on some pillows beside me and work in an odd position while he napped soundly.
It's a good thing he's so cute. ;)
We're one week into owning him and couldn't be happier. We're super excited at the thought of bringing Charlie on future camping trips and kayaking adventures, so this definitely won't be the last you see of him!
