Lady the Pup

Today marks eight happy years of marriage with my husband. Never again will I be able to surprise him with a gift, as much as I did this year.

I got him a puppy.

Some people will outright say this is a terrible idea, for a gift in general, so do your research and plan accordingly. (Puppies are a ton of work, and quite like having a newborn baby in the house!) Adopting dogs is fabulous, I know many people who do this and support them fully! Many of our dogs in the past have been adopted, too. Taking a puppy on, takes a special person (my guy, is THE GUY) and family… but there is a story here. And for the record, this was no quick decision. It has been weighing on our minds for almost two years.

Rewind to ABBY: THE GWP
When I met my charming hunk of a man nearly 10 years ago, he had a beautiful German Wirehaired Pointer (GWP), named Abby. She was gorgeous (as gorgeous as the breed can be) and incredibly active. She liked to be very near my husband, loved to kick up a bird or two and chase one car a week, down the driveway of the house my husband used to live in before he built the house we live in now. Abby was a nice dog, really nice as a matter of fact. She was loved, right up until the day she disappeared into thin air.

We searched for weeks, nothing. No GWPs found at the Animal Rescue League, no sign of her anywhere. Until… my husband spotted her in the yard of some folks who lived off the beaten path south of our place some miles. An unlikely tip from friends was all we needed to hustle over and see if the mystery dog was Abby. She was tied on a long line to a tree, and lounging in the shade with a little girl, who was likely in kindergarten. My husband did walk up on the place and talk to the people living there about Abby, who gladly came to my husband. They claimed she came from the Animal Rescue League, but it was highly obvious, they had STOLEN his dog. Had it not been for that little girl in the yard, Abby would have come home in his car THAT DAY. But, my husband headed home to think about the situation, gather her AKC registration papers and devise a plan to approach the family again.

Unfortunately… in a completely untimely fashion, they moved vanished. Disappeared just like Abby did a month before. Not a trace of them was left. We had to let Abby go, though that was a terrible thing. Lesson learned: call the cops the first time – get the dog. (PS: microchips are miracles and would have helped us tremendously. Annie has one, and Lady will get one soon.)

Fast forward 2 years, we purchased our black lab Annie, exactly one month after we got married. She’s a great dog, and recently turned eight years old. Sadly, she is showing her age a bit physically, but needs a friend to play with, we believe. Let’s put it this way, the pig friends aren’t cutting it. Annie only uses them to eat their food… and their doo-doo. She needs a muse.

My husband and I have been talking about our kids needing a puppy (his fam raised Vizslas when he was growing up and his best one was “LADY”), and he loves GWPs and has owned 3 of them in his life, so I started searching about two years ago, for the perfect dog for our family. Earlier this year I had one failed attempt to get a GWP, no available females I guess. It was a downer, for sure. I just wanted to surprise my family. This was the biggest secret I’ve ever kept. EVER!
Finally, I found a local guy with a nice Mama dog, and after much consideration, I surprised the kids and took them about 20 minutes north, and we selected…
LADY.

She’s a little tyke (7 wks) yet, but I can say with full certainty that we’re enjoying her. The kids don’t even know what to think half the time because they love her so much.

My husband was home and cleaning up after doing chores, the kids rang the doorbell and he answered and was told to cover his eyes. Then they snuck the puppy up to the front step. (I’d play the video but there is one naughty word that rhymes with spit, because he was so shocked). He was floored. So happy, I thought he was going to cry.

Yes, she’s peed on the carpet… but we seriously needed a puppy-reality check (she needs to go outside more than every few hours when she’s this small). Yes, she’s puked. In the car a few times and ON ME… GAHHHHHH! I was picking apples today with her in a homemade ‘sling’ made from a giant scarf… and I must’ve swung her around a bit too much. Puke everywhere.
Everywhere.
But she’s so damn cute.

The above picture was pre-puke, at the bus stop. Disregard my smudged night-before makeup… I usually don’t dress up for morning chores. She wanted to be as close to my face as puppy-ly possible. I think it helped her not to puke in the car when she could see out the windows. She got to go with the little guy to preschool, where she slept the entire time. The kids loved her.

Bath time was strenuous but necessary after the puke-party in my scarf.

But of course:
We’re going to keep her. And this post was merely to keep all of the memories in one place, for down the road when she’s old and slow and hopefully then the kids are in college and we are wanting to remember the times when she was a pup… and the kids were young, and we were young-er.
Marriage is like a puppy, exciting and full of beautiful lessons… and only gets better with time.
If you pick the right pup, or the right ‘old dog’, happiness can be yours.
It certainly is mine.
XOXO Mikey
9-15-15