Last week I implied some exciting things happening this past weekend at our house. As promised, here I am to fill you in!
Some of you have been reading this blog long enough to know all about our resident dogs. There’s 10.5 year old Jake, who is my partner in crime… he is always by my side, runs and walks with me, and loves me like no one else ever will. There was Charlie, our first dog and first love, who passed away last November on the day after Thanksgiving. After Charlie passed, I was actually quite sure we’d be a one dog family, and had easily fallen into our routine, missing Charlie, but content with the dog we still had.
Then summer came, and the kids were home, and though the house was louder and more active, it was clear that something was missing. Jake had started to seem more tired on our walks and runs, and he sat on his bed often during the day with a sad look on his face. As for the kids, early in the summer, they had asked to visit Charlie’s grave in the backyard. It was Sawyer who wanted to visit it, and Emmy tagged along. I watched as they both wept by his grave, missing their old friend.
As summer went on, it was clear that Sawyer had a void in his life… something that all the activities, friends, and toys could not fill. His birthday was quickly approaching, and I decided that the companionship of a dog was what he needed, and I think what we all needed. I talked to Chris about it, and after thinking for a few days, he agreed that a dog would be great for him. Turning 9 in just a couple of weeks, he was ready for more responsibility and he was definitely ready for the love only a dog could provide.
As soon as I returned home from Haven, I aggressively searched with the following stipulations- rescue, male, young puppy, and retriever (I wanted a dog that would play ball with Sawyer). I found several that I thought were a good fit, but was amazed at how quickly they were adopted out before I even had a chance. (In the process, I found several fabulous shelters that I highly recommend working with. I will leave links for those at the bottom of this post.)
One of the puppies I was most excited about was “Revere”, who was listed as an 8 week old retriever mix. (This photo was snapped so I could text it to Chris, so pardon the quality!)
I was immediately smitten, but I didn’t get my hopes up, as I had learned not to. A week after applying for him, we received a call and conducted an interview and were approved. We were the first in line, so we set up a time to meet him!
Yesterday, all of us, including Jake, piled into the car and headed off to the foster home. We were able to meet him, and play with him before allowing Sawyer to make the decision. As you can see, Sawyer wanted to add this pup to our family, and he gave him a new name (one that he came up with all on his own!): Catcher.
And as a sidenote, we are pretty sure he isn’t actually a lab, and judging by his sisters (two were clearly Weimeraners, and one was very much black and tan Shepherd), we think we have a Shepherd/Weimeraner mix on our hands.
We signed all of the necessary paperwork, and headed back home. Some of us were more tired than others…
As soon as we arrived home, Catcher got to work, exploring, chewing on a rawhide, and I got to work with my camera….
Sawyer and his new buddy, Catcher:
Enjoying the rawhide treats we picked up….
Scoping out his new porch surroundings….
Exploring all around the porch… (How can you not just LOVE that sweet face?)
And just so you know, Jake was there hanging out with us, too! He’s sort of uninterested at this point in time, but I feel confident that this puppy will put the pep back into his step.
Soon, Jake and Catcher will be best friends!
I am so excited to watch him become one of our family members, and am most looking forward to watching the relationship between Sawyer and Catcher develop.
No one will ever replace our Charlie, but I sure am looking forward to seeing Catcher mend some hearts around here.
XOXO
PS- Here are some amazing adoption rescues that I found through the process.
PA Caring for K9s– This is where Catcher came from. They were very easy to work with!
Homeward Trails– Another amazing agency to work with. Lois sent me links and checked in with me, and was very friendly!
Big Fluffy Dogs Rescue– This one is self explanatory- looking for a big fluffy dog to warm your home? Look no further! Courtney was the gal I worked with there, and again, really nice and communicative!
Rescue BC– Elaine was awesome and helpful, and they run lots of meet and greets to help introduce their dogs. They are located in Germantown, MD.
I wish that we could have given all the dogs we saw a home. And I will be honest- if we didn’t already have Jake, Chris and I agreed that one of Catcher’s sisters would have made it home with us as well. 🙂 But, he still has two adorable sisters left, Myrtle and Daytona, in case anyone is interested!
