Petfinder Puppy Love

With our perfect puppy's 3rd/21st birthday in just 8 short days, I thought I would give a little thank you to Petfinder. When my husband first had his first interview with his current job, he promised that we would get a dog 5 months into the job if he got it. Well, he got it, and 5 months later, Sophia arrived. He never had a dog, and he knew I would definitely choose being able to have a dog over being with him, which sounds horrible, and it is, but I have ALWAYS wanted my own dog. I know he was very nervous about being a pet owner and the responsibility that come with it. We did a ton of homework on raising a puppy, and we think we have done a pretty good job! After a month of looking on Petfinder, a couple heartbreaks and setbacks, we drove the 90 minutes to Logan Airport in Boston to pick up our girl. After a road trip from her shelter in Paragould, AR she flew with a shelter mate in the cargo section of the plane from Memphis, TN

Our first family photo

The poor thing had every worm in the book, but we found that out the very next morning so they were treated right away. We originally paid $150 for her, after getting her spayed at 5 months, we were refunded $100. We often joke that "you get what you pay for" when she is being strange. We thought we were going to get 30 lbs out of her, when she was full grown, but she has maxed out at 15 lbs, which is pretty nice!

She is the perfect dog for us, plenty of energy mixed with a bit of laziness and a ton of sweetness! She gets us outdoors when we never would have before. I am a huge advocate for adoption. Until there are no more shelter puppies, we will not get a dog from a breeder. I have loved dogs from breeders, but it is not for us. While I would love another one, she is going to be our one and only for a long time! My preachy moment: if you are looking to get a dog, please, please, please consider adoption! 

note: If you are wondering why we did not adopt locally? Unfortunately, most local shelter puppies have pit bull in them. While I appreciate that many people raise them well, and appreciate their love, we did not feel we could take the risk/responsibility. There are plenty of puppies in the area that are not pit bull descendants, but most of them are shipped from the south originally. So we skipped the "middle man" and shipped her here on our own.