It's been close to a year since our baby Ellie Mae crossed the bridge from a massive stroke at age 14. She had been diagnosed with highly malignant oral cancer 18 months earlier and we had a very difficult time during that time.
We pondered all year long on when it was the right time to get another dog. Well......the humane society that I volunteer with finally was able to trap an Irish Setter mix that had been roaming the streets for 2 years. Her owners threw her out and then moved. She had a series of litters which they caught, socialized and adopted. With her last litter of 11 puppies, they got a vet to sedate her thru a dart gun, got her and her puppies and gave her to a vet tech to raise. The father was a traveling man, but everyone assumes he was at least part lab (aren't they all?).
The puppies had their "grand entrance" yesterday at the adoption center. We pulled them out of their kennel 2 at a time to see their temperament. That was hard, so they blocked off an area and let all 11 run free. Talk about a poop fest! We all started counting the number of poops we picked up (there were 5 of us chasing around with paper towels and picking it up as they dropped). We stopped counting after about 35 and remembered that puppies are all about eat and poop. Steve sat on the floor and played with them for over an hour while I sat on the side to watch their temperaments.
Anyway, we chose a beautiful little boy that is currently named Buddy (we will change the name since it sounds too much like Muddy). He will be ready to take home right after the first of the year when he is 8 weeks old. Based on previous litter sizes, he could get anywhere from 75 to 100 pounds. Buddy was the largest puppy in the litter.
You can't tell by the pic, but he is very blond in color with darker brownish ears. Hair is medium length and will probably be curly like a Setters. We have the next week and a half to puppy proof the house.
We pondered all year long on when it was the right time to get another dog. Well......the humane society that I volunteer with finally was able to trap an Irish Setter mix that had been roaming the streets for 2 years. Her owners threw her out and then moved. She had a series of litters which they caught, socialized and adopted. With her last litter of 11 puppies, they got a vet to sedate her thru a dart gun, got her and her puppies and gave her to a vet tech to raise. The father was a traveling man, but everyone assumes he was at least part lab (aren't they all?).
The puppies had their "grand entrance" yesterday at the adoption center. We pulled them out of their kennel 2 at a time to see their temperament. That was hard, so they blocked off an area and let all 11 run free. Talk about a poop fest! We all started counting the number of poops we picked up (there were 5 of us chasing around with paper towels and picking it up as they dropped). We stopped counting after about 35 and remembered that puppies are all about eat and poop. Steve sat on the floor and played with them for over an hour while I sat on the side to watch their temperaments.
Anyway, we chose a beautiful little boy that is currently named Buddy (we will change the name since it sounds too much like Muddy). He will be ready to take home right after the first of the year when he is 8 weeks old. Based on previous litter sizes, he could get anywhere from 75 to 100 pounds. Buddy was the largest puppy in the litter.
You can't tell by the pic, but he is very blond in color with darker brownish ears. Hair is medium length and will probably be curly like a Setters. We have the next week and a half to puppy proof the house.
