Beginnings

Our journey with Rufus and Molly started with my two girls begging relentlessly for a dog. After years of this, we finally gave in. But because I tend to obsess about decisions, a lot of research ensued, which included visiting all the rescue kennels within a 40 minute drive from our house. It was heart wrenching to leave each one without a puppy in tow. My research and processing made me quickly realize that our particular family situation needed a dog with a predictable temperament.

Our oldest daughter has special needs and sometimes she is unable to recognize verbal and nonverbal cues. We needed a very patient and tolerant therapy dog, or a puppy who came from very calm parents that we could train from the ground up. So we regrouped, and decided to look at breeders.

I have heard just about every horror story there is out there about breeders, so I was reluctant and cautious. I also had a couple of other caveats, non-shedding (so some kind of a poodle mix would work) and medium size. By chance, I made a new friend who introduced me to her dog. Her dog had the type of temperament we were looking for. She gave me the name and contact information of her breeder, a friend of hers also got her dog from there, and highly recommended them.

Interruption

But then life happened and we had to put the brakes on the dog search momentum. Just too much going on, and I have found that with big decisions, it’s always good to take a break, if you can. Slow the process down and detach a little bit from the high emotions that cloud our processing.

Spring break was spent in North Carolina visiting family and spending time on the beach. On the long, boring drive home, I decided to contact the breeder and get some information. Well, lo and behold they had a fresh litter of puppies from the same mom and dad as my friends dog!

A couple of days later I made the 2 1/2 hour drive to a farm in Central Ohio. And that was when I first met Josie the doggie mama, she immediately sat on my lap and stared at my face, did not break eye contact until I gently told her to get off my lap so I could look at her puppies. They were only a few days old and I considered it a privilege that the breeder allowed me to see them that early. Eyes and ears were still shut. They were huddled together, keeping each other warm.

Point of No Return

I have advised many people who are considering getting a pet to do all their research, count the cost, and process the monumental responsibility of bringing a pet into their lives, looooong before they step foot at a kennel or a breeder. The minute your eyes feast on those furry balls of fluff, you immediately want to take them all home. This is the point of no return. Your mind becomes an irrational mushy mess. Maternal instincts kick in to full gear.

One Versus Two

A decision had to be made, there were six puppies. I knew in my heart that I would not be able to just bring home just one puppy, the task now would be to convince my husband that we needed two. Because these poodle mix dogs are the designer dog du jour, they came with a hefty price tag. At this point my husband was still not convinced that we needed one dog, much less two! He understood what a busy life I had in my first world suburban existence of shuttling kids to and fro to their extracurricular activities. It would be a lot of work to nurture two puppies and train them properly. But, I can be very persuasive. So two puppies were approved!

I left that first visit without making a commitment. I felt I needed to go home and spend a few days mulling and praying over this decision to see if this was really the right thing to do for our family. A few days later, I made a second visit to the breeders farm. This time the puppies were awake and active. It was so much fun. The breeder brought them out in a big red bucket. I spent some time playing with all of them getting to know their quirky little personalities.

Caution

I think this is a essential step in determining whether you are working with a good breeder or not. I would have immediately been suspicious if the breeder was reluctant to have me see the puppies or meet the mom and dad. If they have nothing to hide then they should be OK with you touring the property and seeing  how these dogs are being housed and taken care of. It is a big financial and emotional investment. Secretive breeders would be a huge red flag.

Nesting

I made out the down payment check for two puppies. This particular breeder did not have his clients decide which puppy they wanted until the day the puppies were ready to go home. A list was made, and because we were the first ones to put a down payment we were number one and number two, first dibs.

I went home that day and immediately went into a panic. I knew that my life as I had known it, was coming to an end! Buyers remorse, I guess that’s what it’s called. But, nesting instincts soon overcame those emotions, and we began the process of puppyfying our home.

Decisions, decisions

We made one more visit to the breeder before the puppies were ready to go home. My mother-in-law and my kids came with me. It was pretty clear at that visit which puppies we would want. Another long car ride home sans puppies. But we could start to see the fur at the end of the tunnel.

Gotcha Day

At eight weeks old, the pups were finally ready to come home. My younger daughter made the drive with me to pick them up. All the other future puppy owners were also there and everyone had to wait their turn according to their number on the puppy waitlist. We marched in and spent a few minutes looking all the puppies over, and left with Rufus and Molly. I felt a little bit bad as we walked out because one of the kids that was waiting with his parents took one look at Rufus in my arms and cried it out “that’s the one I wanted!” They were all adorable puppies, I am sure he will be happy with whichever one he ends up with.

We stopped a couple of times on the way home to have the pups stretch their legs and go potty. Then drove directly to the horse barn near our house where my older daughter with special needs was getting theraputic horseback riding lessons. It gave me such joy to hand over her new baby, Molly. My younger daughter had decided from a previous visit that she wanted Rufus.

Home Sweet Home

I think we’re gonna like it here!

Daddy’s Babies

Even though my husbands prediction came true, that these two pups would end up being my sole responsibility, because the kids are so busy with school and other activities. We still say that they are “our kids” dogs.

Having a puppy in the house is like having a newborn, sleepless nights taking them outside at every whimper to make sure that they get potty trained straight away. It was a LOT of work in the beginning.

It did not take long for my husband to realize that having these dogs were a good idea. They have brought so much joy into our lives.