Many of you may know that we had a dog years ago. We found her in 2011, a mere 5 pounds, on the hottest of Sunday summer afternoons at a random sale on the side of the road. She was the tiniest little thing hiding in the back of a really big kennel. After leaving the sale, we didn’t even make it a few minutes down the road before turning around to go back to see if she was available. We held her, and that was that! She rode home on my lap. Read about Lucy here! (And here, here, and here!) (Sidenote: Lucy now lives with a dear college friend of mine. Long story short, years ago, she bit Remington’s arm one day, and with having 5 month old Emerson around, plus neighborhood kiddos, we could not allow that to happen again. Saying goodbye to her was one of the most difficult things I have ever had to do. Sharing about this brings me to tears to this day. It’s something I don’t know that I’ll ever get over. We loved her, she was a part of our family. We still talk about her and think of her. The silver lining was knowing how much Lucy’s new owners adored her. And I’m forever grateful that she went to such a wonderful home.)
I remember when we brought Lucy home, we thought, perhaps quite naively, if we can do this (this being, raise a puppy!) without having a clue what to do, that one day we may be able to take care of a baby! I know, I know, puppies and babies are not the same, however, there are some parallels to be made! Now two kiddos later, it’s like I’m starting over! I feel like we had only one night of puppy crying her in crate. That house-training didn’t take so long. Reggie reminded me that Lucy did cry more than one night, and that house-training did take awhile. Fletcher is similar to a newborn baby in some ways, however, from the start he could already walk and run and jump and nip! Ohhhh those sharp little puppy shark teeth!!! My hands are healing from the wounds of battle. Battle, you ask? Yes, such battles include, but are not limited to the following: Puppy vs Crate, Puppy vs Leash, Puppy vs Dropped Paper Towel, Puppy vs Remington’s Sock On The Floor, Puppy vs Woven Basket of Blankets. I’m trying my hardest to soak up every second of puppyhood, because he’s growing more every day, just like our boys. Speaking of the boys, Remington and Emerson have been such wonderful big brothers to little Fletcher! Chase and Fetch are favorite pastimes in our house right now. And you can bet that one or all of us are giggling with Fletcher’s antics and lovable silliness! Like when he carries a toy that is almost bigger than he is and rolls over! Or when he slides across the kitchen floor chasing after his favorite ball!
Having another dog is something I’ve wished for these past few years, and the timing has never seemed quite right. I grew up loving our Miniature Schnauzer, Ginger. She was a sweet companion, who loved being brushed and who loved playing outside. It’s always been a dream of mine for our boys to experience the love and companionship of a dog. Back in the Spring while quarantined, we happened upon some dog training videos with the cutest little puppy! I have to admit, I fell hard for this little ball of fur, who happened to be an Irish Doodle. After some research, I found that there was a breeder just north of us here in Indiana! I had already researched a similar breed after meeting one years ago on a quick trip to photograph an engagement session in Santa Monica, CA. Reggie and I had woken up super early due to the time change and jet lag, and set out for an early morning walk in search of coffee. While we were walking, a man and his fluffy dog approached us. I asked if I could pet his adorable dog, and the pup laid down on his back for belly rubs, smiling at us the entire time! I was in heaven! I asked what kind of dog he had, and learned that it was a Golden Doodle. From then on, I knew that someday, I would love to have such a kind-hearted, happy-go-lucky dog as part of our family!
As we approached Christmas, the timing sort of clicked, and before we knew it, we had the biggest surprise of all for the boys on Christmas morning! It was so hard to keep this special surprise, and I caught myself so many times in the days before Christmas almost saying, “When we have our puppy, …” or “When we bring the puppy home, …!” This one particular afternoon Remington even asked me why I was smiling so big. Of course, I couldn’t divulge why, but it was because minutes earlier we had just been able to FaceTime with the breeder to see our puppy playing and interacting! We were getting a puppy!!! We had wrapped up a few dog supplies for Remington and Emerson to open, saying they’d be able to start another business, similar to their fall leaf raking endeavors, only this one could last all year, in any season. Remington put the pieces together pretty quickly, and once he and Emerson opened a framed photo of teeny tiny soon-to-be-named Fletcher, the happy tears flowed! It was so fun and so sweet, and, yes, we do have video of the whole thing! We were going to bring home a puppy within 6 sleeps, and we could hardly wait! We ventured out to pick up all of the necessary – and some not so necessary, like a green puffer coat! – supplies for our new little four-legged friend! The night before we were to meet and bring Fletcher home, we couldn’t help but talk about and imagine what he would do, where he would run, what he would play with first, and, most of all, we hoped he would feel at right at home! I’m happy to report that Fletcher has adjusted very well, and has even been sleeping through the night for the past two weeks! Each day he seems to have grown overnight! We just love him so much!
These were taken during Fletcher’s first few days home with us. And for being in a new place, with new people, with a strange black rectangle that goes click click click…Fletcher was a total champ! I may or may not have had to bribe him with multiple treats while also teaching him to sit, stay, and look at me in a matter of an hour! Whew! Did he made me work for these? Yes! Was it worth it? Absolutely!
Oh, Fletcher…I’ll be doing more photos of you again soon to see just how much you’ve grown! He’s been with us for almost a month now!
As luck would have, Fletcher’s cozy bed arrived during our session! It only took him a few minutes to realize it was just for him!
Meet Fletcher, our silly, lovable Irish Goldendoodle!
He is certainly an ADORABLE puppy! Can’t wait until we see him again! Fletcher did a GREAT job at his photo session.