Heading out of town to do some Asheville shopping, we stopped by Walmart to see some puppies a friend was selling. In our small mountain town, the Walmart parking lot is “the place” to find animals every Saturday. The Humane Society, the Catman, and local backyard breeders show up with cats and dogs for adoption, for sale, or for free. Our friend was no where to be seen. We turned the car around to leave and saw a sign saying, “Goldendoodle puppies for sale!” Goldendoodle? What on the Lord’s green earth was that? Both of us laughing at the name, I couldn’t help begging my husband to pullover. He had been waiting for the ok, him loving dogs as much as myself. And puppies! Though the name made us laugh, something about it made me feel like we were in for a very special furry surprise. Now, my husband and I are both working students that live in rented housing. We always looked at puppies, but always had to say goodbye because we didn’t think it would mesh with our life at the moment. Not five minutes into the little puppy meet-and-greet, we were figuring a way to fit a puppy into our life. Both of us kept looking to the other to see a sign of surrender. In ten minutes, we had connected with one of the two girls of the litter. In fifteen minutes, we were paying up and driving home with a brand new puppy and discussing the right name. And I mean brand new, only six weeks old. My husband and I had never owned our own dogs. We both had had family dogs, but that is a very different affair. (In my studies, I have since learned that six weeks is too young to be leaving the litter.) We named our little sweet, Lilah, which we believed to fit her perfectly. That day we dropped little Lilah off with grandma and went to the pet store. We had a blast shopping for her. We couldn’t be happier when we got her home. The night was tough; I woke up every few hours with her to play until she went back to sleep. I spent the next month spending every free moment with her, shopping for her, or reading about dog psychology, behavior, and proper care (and still pulled off straight A’s last semester). I’ve learned a lot about puppies; that she was perhaps too young when we got her, I should have brought her into our home differently, and set different rules from the get-go. But you live and you learn. She is now a very loved part of our family. I love her breed and her personality. We have a lot yet to learn and that’s why I’d like to spend some time on this website with fellow “dood” owners to share stories and get some needed advice. You’ll be seeing some more post in other categories very soon (including house training, biting, and jumping). You gotta love these dogs!
