Puppy Pick Up Day

Two weeks ago, our lives changed. After many months of talking, researching, talking, researching, and talking, we felt like God opened the door for us to get a puppy. I have a list somewhere of 10 different ways that I saw God work in the process of getting a dog. Number one - my hubby agreed to it! And so we made the purchase and had to wait to pick her up. A huge blessing was when the breeder agreed to meet us half way. Instead of driving eight hours one way, we only had to drive four. Those four hours went fast, yet we were asked frequently, "How much longer?" And those last 15 minutes I found myself getting very nervous. And this was for a puppy, not a child. Don't get me wrong; I was very excited. It was just all so new, and I didn't know what to expect.

We pulled into the Arby's parking lot 5 minutes before noon, and pulled in next to the breeder's truck. They lifted the puppy up to the window, and I was a goner. We all got out to meet her, and I think we were all in love. She was smaller than I thought she might be. Yeah! After a few minutes with her, we went in to eat lunch and take care of all the paper work. The girls were very patient considering that their new puppy was outside.

It was then time. Time to take ownership of this pup. She was cold and whimpering when the breeder was ready to hand her over. I knew this was my moment to mother this puppy. She sat on my lap and calmed down pretty quickly. I climbed in the back of the van with her for awhile so the girls could play with her. I'm sure you can imagine the squeals of delight.

Then it was time for "the decision." What would we name her. We had talked about little else for the last week. The top names were Daisy and Cabela. I bet you can figure out who liked what name.

We had a couple of hurdles in choosing a name. It needed to be a manly feminine name. For example, Brandon didn't want to be yelling "Honey!" in the field. And then I didn't want a human name. I'm just weird like that. Back to the van...Analise says, "I still like the name Caramel." We hadn't considered that name, other than the time I asked her a few months ago what she would name a dog, and she said Caramel. She said it this time, and it just seemed to click. She was that color. Not manly. Not a human name. And all five of us agreed. Caramel (we pronounce like Carmel) she  is.

The four hour trip went great. She took a couple of naps on my lap. She romped around and played in the back. We stopped half way home at a Petco to stretch our legs.

When we got home, she sniffed out her new home and ate dinner. The breeder had told us not to be surprised if she didn't eat that night.

Here she is. We never weighed her, but I guess she weighed around 9 lbs. 

I love those wrinkles!

Welcome to the family Caramel - our sweet Vizsla!