They had just gotten back from a trip to Yellowstone and were scheduled to go on another trip to Canada this next week, so we were really looking forward to showing them our Halloween decorations and just doing some fun things together. On Tuesday afternoons, Pearce has a sports class he goes to. We were getting ready for that and I had about 5 minutes before we had to get in the car. I just happened to get on Facebook and right when I got on, an ad for Golden Retriever puppies popped up in an online garage sale group I belong to. I quickly read through it and saw that there were 3 girls and 2 boys available and that they would be ready to go home this weekend! I looked at the woman's profile that had the puppies, saw that she looked like a nice woman, lives in a nice neighborhood right by me and the puppies looked really healthy and were for reasonable price.....expensive enough that only nice people would pay that much, but not thousands of dollars for a "pet quality" puppy. I messaged her quickly and told her my parents had been wanting a female golden ever since their beloved Cookie passed away and I asked when I could come look at them. Now, this is all before I even mentioned this to Mom and Daddy. Mom has always told Ashley and I that she would love to have another golden, but she felt Daddy just didn't quite have it in him to open his heart up to another after losing Cookie. They would casually look at litters but were never serious enough to pull the trigger. I even called about a few litters around Dallas and gave mom the info, but nothing ever came of it. I just felt like they needed another puppy to love. With Cookie, they were totally devoted to her, took such great care of her, she kept them active with walks and hiking, they both loved having her companionship, Daddy was such a good trainer with her and she was always so well behaved and sweet with everyone. They both loved Cookie so much that when she passed away, their hearts literally ached for such a long time. I just wanted them to feel that love again and for another puppy to feel THEIR love again. So.......I set up an appointment that evening to go see the puppies! I sent mom and dad a picture of the puppies along with a picture of the mama and daddy dog and then called them to tell them I was going to see the puppies. Mom showed the pictures to Daddy and I waited for Daddy to say something along the lines of "Carrie, absolutely do not go see those puppies. Mom and I are not getting one!" Instead, he told me to ask how big the mama and daddy are to get an idea of how big the puppies will be as adults. A GLIMMER OF HOPE FOR MY CRAZY PLAN!!!!!! After the sports class, Pearce and I went home for about an hour and I called mom to tell her I was going over there in about an hour and she told me to be sure to call on the home phone and just talk to Daddy. I sent her another picture of two of the puppies that they lady had sent me and mom said she ached to hold one and I said "Well, maybe you will!!!" So, Pearce and I drive over to the lady's house which was only about 10-15 minutes away in a really nice neighborhood. I told Pearce that we were only looking at the puppies for Mama and Papa and that he has to be calm and quiet so that I could talk to the owners. We walk in and the first thing we see is a little enclosure full of fat golden puppies!!!!! Pearce goes over and just starts saying "Awwwwwwwwww!" I notice that the owner lives in a really nice house, she and her husband are so nice, and the puppies look really healthy. I also notice two other families there looking at puppies (none are being held yet) and mom and dad only want a female. I start talking to the owners and quickly asked which female was the sweetest, calmest one. They both tell me the one with the white collar. I scoop her up, Pearce and I sit down with her, and it was instantaneous love. She just laid on Pearce, let us love on her, wasn't whining or barking. When we set her down, she would walk right back over to Pearce and get in his lap. She was also the smallest one, which I loved, too. She was THE ONE. I told Pearce we cannot put her down because one of the other families might take her and that he had to protect her....he totally understood that and went and sat down on a chair with her while I went to talk to the owners. I asked what I would need to do if my parents agreed to get her. She told me I would have to put a $250 deposit down on her to hold her until mom and dad came, or I could take my chances and see if she was still here on Saturday when they came. I knew she would not still be there. I called Daddy and somewhat frantically told him I had found the most perfect, sweetest, cutest little girl and could I PLEASE put a deposit down on her. I knew it was a completely crazy plan because #1, I was the one picking her out for them and #2 they were scheduled to go to Canada the following week. I begged Daddy to just let us figure all that out later....either I could keep her while they were gone since she was too young to be boarded, or maybe the owners would keep her until they got back. I didn't quite know how we would work it all out, all I knew as that this little girl had to be mom and dad's, absolutely no question about it. Daddy said I was just rushing into this because I was afraid someone else would take her.....ummmm, yup! I just felt like it was meant to be...yes, it was bad timing, yes it would be a crazy few weeks with her because of their trip, yes a puppy wasn't even on their radar (well, not on Daddy's), but I just knew in my heart they had to have her and that they would completely fall in love with her when they met her. After begging Daddy to let me hang up the phone and drive to the ATM to get the deposit.....he finally said YES! I could not believe it. The man that meticulously plans out everything has agreed to let me pick out a puppy they had no idea they wanted. I told the owners we wanted the white collar puppy and that I would be back with the money. Pearce and I started driving to the ATM when Daddy called again. Dang it. I had to tell myself to not get mad at him if he decides he doesn't want to go through with it. I picked up my phone and he really was concerned about their trip and what they would do with her and blah, blah, blah :) By this time I was already at the ATM with my card ready to withdraw the money. We finally agreed that maybe the owners would agree to keep her with her mama until they got back from their trip and Daddy could pick her up on the 31st. Worst case is I would just keep her. So, got the money and went back to their house. I asked if they would be able to keep her until the 31st and they said it would have to be he 29th. I said that's fine, I would just keep her for 2 days. Gave them the money, they took down my name and wrote down "white collar puppy," I told them my parents and I would come by Saturday for them to meet puppy, had to drag a crying Pearce out of their house because he thought we were taking the puppy right then. Got home and had the worst headache, but oh my gosh.....MOM AND DADDY WERE GETTING A PUPPY!!!!!!!! I talked to them several times during the next few days and I just hoped I had made the right decision and that Daddy wasn't upset with me that I was so pushy about her. Mom said that they had been talking and were so excited about her....and that they had even cancelled their Canada trip! WHAT?!?! They decided they wanted to be able to take her home and just start bonding with her and that they could go on their trip another time. I was sooooo excited for them!!! They already decided on her name....Annie :) Saturday FINALLY came and Pearce could not wait to take them to see her. As soon as they saw her and held her, that was it. They were in love and I was so relieved. She was just as sweet as ever. I had to hold back tears because I was so happy for Annie and for my parents. We talked and talked about her. Daddy had already gotten her a crate that he and Pearce put together. He had also gotten her a little collar and leash. The plan was for Daddy and I to go pick her up at 6:45 Monday morning because the owner had to take her daughter to school and then go to work. Then we were going to bring Annie back to my house for all of us to play with her and then they would head on to Dallas later that morning. So, Saturday and Sunday we had fun just being together. Saturday night, we all watched the Arkansas game and pigged out on BBQ Chris cooked. That was such a fun game to watch!! Mom and I did a lot of sewing and I made the cutest quilt and 3 Fall table runners! We went to Joann's and mom got me lots of sewing supplies and then we went to eat lunch at Mimi's. We spent a lot of time talking about sweet little Annie :) I loved being able to sew with Mom, too. I finally feel really comfortable with my sewing machine and I'm so proud of what we made and that we did it together. While mom and I were out and about, Papa took Pearce to the park and then to Freddie's to get a burger and fries and custard. Daddy said Pearce ate every last bit of it!! This morning finally rolled around and Daddy and I left at 6:30 am to go get Annie. We did not want to be late at all. We got her and I just held her on the way back home. I had put Pearce in bed with Mama when we left, so I couldn't wait to wake them up with sweet little puppy kisses. Mama and Pearce were so excited to see her and we had the best time just watching her walk around and explore the house. Mom had made her a little doll out of terry cloth and she really liked playing with that. Pearce gave her two of Daisy's bones to play with and chew on. It was just so fun to see her explore and then she would plop down on her tummy and take a little nap on the kitchen floor :) Daddy got her the cutest little red plaid collar and red leash and so he and Pearce practiced letting her walk around with the leash. Whenever we would take her outside, she would go potty....good little girl. Around 9:00 am, it came time for Mama and Papa and Annie to leave. They wanted to get home and get her settled at their house. Pearce was so sad after they left. I showed him a few pictures mom and daddy had sent me during their drive back and Pearce told me it made him sad to see them :( Then I was laying down in the guest room for a little while this afternoon and Pearce came in and just started crying because he said he missed Mama and Papa and Annie. I told him we would go to Dallas very soon to see them again. My sweet little boy. So, there you have it. The story of how Annie came into our lives unexpectedly. Although she could never ever replace Cookie and Cookie will ALWAYS have a special place in Mom and Dad's hearts, Annie has already brought them joy and showed them that they can love another Golden again. We love you sweet Annie girl!!!!!!
How it all began...
She's the one! This is when we first saw the puppies and picked "Annie."
Mom and Daddy meeting Annie for the first time.
Papa's in love with his little girl.
Mama's in love with her little girl.
The quilt I made!
The table runner I made!
Her puppy breath and that fat tummy....LOVE!!!
Pearce was so sweet and so gentle with Annie. I love that he has such a heart for all animals, but especially for doggies!
