Bringing Home Winnie Bea!

Meet the newest member of our family...

WINNIE BEA

Our kids have been begging for a dog for about a year. We have been putting them off or just flat out saying "no". We are a busy family and have two cats and two guinea pigs. A few weeks ago, Jason and I started talking about the reasons why we've been telling the kids "no", and honestly, all our reasons were pretty selfish (extra responsibility, walking in the snow, one more thing, etc, etc). We came to the agreement that our kids are only kids once, they are at good ages now to bring in a puppy, and we want them to have the memories of growing up with a family dog.

So, the search began. After having a successful adoption of our two cats, we began the adoption pursuit. However, the process was very frustrating. I am NOT discouraging adoption at all, please know that! Our situation was a little different, I think. We wanted a particular breed of dog, knowing that this dog would come into a family with three children and two cats. We also wanted a medium sized dog. We became very picky in what we were looking to adopt. We also had a very specific timeframe in that we wanted to surprise our kids Easter weekend. So, to make a long story short, the adoption route didn't work out for our specific requirements.

We were fortunate enough to find a breeder of English Bulldogs and Beagles in our neck of the woods, so we committed to the pick of the litter! We drove the kids to Amish country on Friday, took them to lunch and then told them we were going to visit a farm. We pulled into the farm and Jason went in to "make sure they were open" (aka...let the lady know how we would surprise the kids).

Upon entering her house, we were greeted by two teacup Yorkie puppies. Of course, we could not pry our kids from those cute tiny furballs! The breeder brought "Winnie" into the room and the kids seriously wanted nothing to do with her because of these Yorkies! So, we had to encourage them to notice Winnie and to play with her also.

Winnie was adorable! She's so awkward and clumsy and had the biggest belly I'd ever seen! Her paws are big and her docked tail was wagging 90 mph! Jason began asking the kids questions about Winnie and asked them if they liked her. They said yes, and he said, "It's a good thing, because she's yours!". I think he had to repeat that 3 times before it sunk in! One started crying tears of Joys (E), one jumped up and down and did a dance of some sort (B) and one just stood in complete stunned silence (A). (Oh, and if you know Abby, she is NEVER silent...)

The ride home was pretty uneventful, with a little bit of whimpering every now and then. She is adjusting well to her new home. The first night was a little rough and I wish I'd had a camera to take a picture of Jason and I with our pillows over our head throughout most of the night, just trying to save our hearing!

We're off to the puppy well visit this morning. I'm sure we will have many updates and stories to tell. For now, enjoy these pics!