Are you thinking about getting a dog or puppy and wondering how to choose one? Well, I’ll share our story with you. My husband has always wanted a dog, however, when his job required us to move from Tampa (which I loved) to Fort Myers (which I was not too excited about), he thought a way to appease me would be to get a cat. We did and somehow this cat is in love with him! (I digress, but will share that story soon.)
Anyway, after ten years, two children and many requests for a dog, I caved and said, “yes”. Next came the many decisions of going through a breeder (which the husband wanted) or to rescue (which I wanted). Another big decision is getting a puppy (which he wanted) or a dog that is a few years old (which I wanted). I have heard it is good to get a puppy if you rescue, so they are more likely to not have been abused (that may result in non-desirable behavior). I have also heard getting a dog that is around two is good because they are already housebroken (most likely) and should be out of the puppy chewing stage.
The next item to consider is what breed of dog. The husband went from wanting a Boxer to a Weimaraner to a Lab. So being the good compromiser I am, I started searching the local rescue for Labs. I found a wonderful rescue organization where the dogs live at a foster family’s home, which can ease the transition to your family and home. One of the obstacles we ran into with this organization is that they had events at numerous locations on Saturday’s, but if we found a puppy we wanted to see online, we never knew which location they would be on a given Saturday. We went a few times and couldn’t agree on any dog. Then, my daughter and I went and found a puppy we both loved. However, the husband and my son weren’t there, so I didn’t want to decide on a dog without them. Next, we found a puppy online and wanted to see him. My husband was able to get an associate at the organization’s number, so she told us where he would be on Saturday. However, right before we could see him, he got sick with parvo. He thankfully recovered, but no one got back to us after we applied to foster him.
However, after several failed attempts at adopting a puppy we wanted, we decided to search other options. One day, I found a bunch of lab mix puppies at another local rescue and we stopped on our way home from a weekend trip. My children had been on many dog searching trips, so they weren’t too excited. However, we saw this cute little lab mix puppy, that was nice and calm (which I wanted).
After a few days of yucky bathroom times. We took him to the vet. They, in a round about way told me, he was so calm because he was sick. Thankfully, it was nothing serious and after several prescriptions, he is a healthy, energetic puppy!
As you may be able to tell from the picture, we compromised and got a rescue puppy! You may also like the post: life with a puppy – the first year (coming soon).
Do you have a dog? If so, please share your dog story below!
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