Well, the Jorgensen family grew by four legs and a whole lot of fluff last week. Meet, Harry "Pawter", our new mini goldendoodle friend. He's fluffy, he follows us wherever we go, and he's already cast a spell on all our hearts, which is saying a lot for this self-proclaimed "non" dog person. This little guy has been a long time coming. Beau has been asking for a loyal best friend (affectionately named Brisket) for the better part of fifteen years, and thanks to all the new dogs who arrived to many of Cruz and Mila's friends' homes during quarantine, I was feeling the heat. I think it may have been the two week stint of receiving post-it notes on our headboard that said things like, "Mom, get us a dog," that finally led me to jump into the rabbit hole of dog ownership. And my was it a deep rabbit hole! I learned more about goldendoodles than I care to admit in my search for the perfect little wizard to join our family, finally landing on this little guy from Prairie View Pups up in Sheldon, Iowa.
One of the first pictures we received of him! Born December 4, 2020!
We decided right away we wanted to surprise the kids, which meant that for the better part of two months we not-so-carefully tip-toed around the subject, sneaking puppy crates and Chewy.com boxes downstairs, listening to all the Bella and Baxter podcasts in the car, and almost caving one night when we found Cruz sobbing in his bed because he was so sad we weren't getting a dog! Beau had decided to plant a seed before bed one night as Mila isn't always the best advocate for change, and we may have put a false hope in Cruz's little heart a bit too soon. And while Beau would have caved in a second, I made him hold off a little longer. Because the best things in life are worth waiting for...
And on Thursday, January 28, Beau and I hit the road for a "work meeting" in Sheldon, Iowa. Our kids were only a little suspicious as to why I was going along for a work meeting, but they didn't question it much. Beau and I enjoyed a "last supper" in Fort Dodge, slept our last full night's sleep in a Holiday Inn Express, and picked up our puppy bright and early the next morning.
The first thing I noticed was how adorable and fluffy he was! Because of COVID, we didn't get to go meet him ahead of time, so we relied on the breeder to help us pick the right fit. He was so patient with my millions of questions and the smile on his face as he handed him through the window assured me he knew he nailed it. He said he was "the cutest and friendliest of the bunch!"
His first picture! It was so fun responding to all the texts from people who had been in on this process with us. Poor friends who had heard my never-ending saga on puppy decisions were probably unconvinced it would actually happen! And then, it did!
Our three and a half hour ride home was a little bit of everything. Harry was anxious and all over the place for the first hour, pooped on the dashboard halfway home, and then slept the rest of the way! At least he had the decency to not do it on our lap!
We got home and got settled for the afternoon before getting the kids from school. Which meant I already tried getting him on a potty schedule and Beau just wanted to nap with him on the couch. ;)
Beau went up to get the kids and Harry fell asleep on my chest in our bedroom. He was so sleepy that when I brought him out to the living room, the kids thought he was a stuffed animal at first! And when they realized he was actually the real thing, well, the rest was history...
And now, we have a dog! I still can't believe it. He weighs just 5.75 pounds at eight weeks, prefers to be at our feet all the time, loves to be carried like a baby (which is good because Mila carries him everywhere), and is already making strides in getting used to his crate and this house-training business. The first few days were quite the adjustment for us all, but we're finding our groove every day. And we're taking lots of naps and potty breaks in between!
There smiles say it all! These two were over the moon to take Harry on his first walk. And then we took him out to the trails and he did his best to leap through the foot of snow. He was completely exhausted after ten minutes!
A few things to remember about puppy Harry? He learned to sit in less than a day thanks to his favorite treat, string cheese. He loves his crunchy toy giraffe the kids named, Voldemort. He seems completely unfazed by everything, including a spray bottle of water to his face, our neighbor's big dog, Enzo, or the vacuum cleaner. His favorite game is already fetch (with a tennis ball much too big for his little mouth), but also thinks we're playing a game every time I get the broom out. He prefers to sleep in his little basket I got for his toys and looks like a little toddler emptying it out one by one and climbing inside it with pride. He barked like crazy for two nights as we got him used to his crate and almost drove me batty. But then I hold him like a lion cub and he blinks the hair out of his eyes and I forgive him. And I'm pretty sure he's quite a fan of this Muggle family of his.
No comments:
Post a Comment