Meet Dodger.
He's an 8 week old Goldendoodle. His mom's a golden retriever, his dad a poodle. He's supposed to grow up with the retriever temperament and the hypoallergenic hair of a poodle. In other words, he's supposed to be the perfect dog. So far, so good.
We got him last Thursday. Keith saw an ad in the Sunday classifieds for doodle puppies at a quarter of the price we've seen them everywhere else. They're a fairly new "designer breed", so I've been reluctant to really fall for the doodle idea because of the cost. Besides, there are tons of homeless dogs, right? Not so fast... we've been getting screwed by rescue facilities. They just don't do customer service. We were shopping on Petfinder and finding all kinds of dogs. We applied, never heard back, and the dog cost as much as these puppies.
So we drove 2 hours north with cash in hand. I was convinced we were headed to a puppy mill - that our evening would end with no puppy, a broken heart, and a trip to the "authorities" to report the racket.
Instead we ended up in an Amish community.
That's right - not only is Dodger from a farm in the sticks, he doesn't even really speak English.
It was great - their animals were clean, healthy and beautiful. And I don't mind at all handing money over to a family with nine kids.
Here's a recap of his first few days:
He slept most of the way home - it was another 2 hours back.
Once we got him home we gave him a bath. We didn't bargain for more than one critter.
On Friday he met "Grandma Johnson" and she turned him to mush.
He kind of looks like his "uncle Sammy"
On Saturday he slept through his entire Vet appointment. Even when they took his temperature from you know where.
On Sunday, he spent all day at my parents while Keith and I worked the CRC 150 anniversary at the Van Andel. Don't we look cool?
And the cats? He's just getting to know them. Phoebe couldn't care less, unless he's running and then she gets scared. Charlie's still not talking to us.
He promises to be a fun addition to our little family.
And I promise to you that this blog will not turn into a pet blog.
At least not in its entirety.
Pictures of the house soon!
He's an 8 week old Goldendoodle. His mom's a golden retriever, his dad a poodle. He's supposed to grow up with the retriever temperament and the hypoallergenic hair of a poodle. In other words, he's supposed to be the perfect dog. So far, so good.
We got him last Thursday. Keith saw an ad in the Sunday classifieds for doodle puppies at a quarter of the price we've seen them everywhere else. They're a fairly new "designer breed", so I've been reluctant to really fall for the doodle idea because of the cost. Besides, there are tons of homeless dogs, right? Not so fast... we've been getting screwed by rescue facilities. They just don't do customer service. We were shopping on Petfinder and finding all kinds of dogs. We applied, never heard back, and the dog cost as much as these puppies.
So we drove 2 hours north with cash in hand. I was convinced we were headed to a puppy mill - that our evening would end with no puppy, a broken heart, and a trip to the "authorities" to report the racket.Instead we ended up in an Amish community.
That's right - not only is Dodger from a farm in the sticks, he doesn't even really speak English.
It was great - their animals were clean, healthy and beautiful. And I don't mind at all handing money over to a family with nine kids.
Here's a recap of his first few days:He slept most of the way home - it was another 2 hours back.
Once we got him home we gave him a bath. We didn't bargain for more than one critter.
On Friday he met "Grandma Johnson" and she turned him to mush.
He kind of looks like his "uncle Sammy"
On Saturday he slept through his entire Vet appointment. Even when they took his temperature from you know where.
On Sunday, he spent all day at my parents while Keith and I worked the CRC 150 anniversary at the Van Andel. Don't we look cool?
And the cats? He's just getting to know them. Phoebe couldn't care less, unless he's running and then she gets scared. Charlie's still not talking to us.
He promises to be a fun addition to our little family.
And I promise to you that this blog will not turn into a pet blog.
At least not in its entirety.
Pictures of the house soon!
1 comment:
Sorry the pictures are weird - I hope they work for you. I actually posted all this in the wrong blog and had to just copy/paste.
Post a Comment