I really, really missed by barn buddy.
We all missed the routine and rhythm his life brought to our home.
Surprisingly, I didn't realize that my ability to find a quiet moment to sit down and write about our crazy, windy life would be impacted in the way that it was. We had so many great memories from last year, but I just never found the ambition to sit down and share them. It's been a long time since that has crept into my self.
I am feeling motivated again.
If not for the sake of true motivation, for the sake of the entertaining humor our new addition is bringing into our lives and worth documenting!
Y'all, Meet Tucker!
Then one morning, I opened up my Facebook page over my coffee, oatmeal and egg white breakfast routine and saw a picture posted by an old Arabian Horse Youth parent and I was memorized.
This momma's face caught my breath. Her eyes tugged at my heart and I "felt" Boji. I felt that same draw that I had for him. I just knew it. I had to have one of these puppies. I was ready!
I knew the kids were ready. Especially, Mr Blue Eyes because he is a dog person after all. The trick was convincing Handy Man...
I immediately text him her picture. His reply, "Oh Boy!"
There is a part of me that always new I would stick with the Labrador breed if we got another dog. Their temperament is a great fit for our family and the things we like to do. Secretly, I messaged my friend Ms. Beth and asked her about the puppies. Just in case. A few days later, she sent me some pictures...
This little guy had a black dot on his ear. (foreshadowing)
Handy Man admitted that he wanted to stick with a Lab. Ms. Beth's momma dog, Raven, had a multi-colored litter, but ultimately, Handy Man said the Yellows have always been his favorite. And a male, he wanted a yellow male with a dark nose.
30 seconds later I was messaging Ms. Beth for an even tempered, yellow male with a dark nose!
She had just the pup in mind. A very sweet, even tempered, love bug, with a tiny black mismark spot on his right year.
We hadn't fully committed, but she would periodically send me puppy updates.
The time finally came when we needed to commit and then figure out how we were going to bring this pup home. Unfortunately, Ms. Beth lives just outside of Houston. I looked at the calendar and plane ticket options and decided I would fly down to Houston, get a rental car, pick up the puppy, get back on the plane with him as carry-on and fly home, all in the same day. That was the plan anyways.
I bought my ticket and then called customer service to reserve traveling with a puppy on the return flight. The woman I spoke to asked me a few questions including age and breed of the puppy I would be traveling with. When I told her he was a Lab and would be almost 10 weeks she sucked in a deep breath and said, "Hmmm. Are you sure he is going to fit in an approved pet carrier and fit under the seat?"
Ummmm he's a puppy??? "Yes. Why?"
I was then informed that the dimensions for the carrier are 10"x14"x18" and that the puppy must be able to stand freely and turn around in the carrier on his own or we could be denied boarding. I still had the woman reserve our spot and immediately called Ms. Beth to let her know I got my ticket and mentioned the conversation.
Beth ran outside and measured the puppy for me. She came back and said, "Ummm. I think we have a problem. He's 7 weeks now and is already 11" tall at the shoulder, and 18" long. He's going to do a lot of growing in the next three weeks. I think we need a plan B."
I immediately called and cancelled my ticket and rental car.
Operation Bring Puppy Home!
Plan B:
Road Trip!!!
1 rental car
2 iPads
2 early 2000's portable DVD players
1 speeding ticket
1 hotel stay in Clarendon, TX
3 states
86508263501 cups of coffee
16 hours in the car....
We arrived at Ms. Beth's house and the doggies were waiting for us!
We entered the back yard and Tucker slumped away and hid under the table from the kids. That wasn't quite what we had envisioned... Then, he went and sat by the gate and just pouted. My first impression of Tucker was that of a sulking and depressed little fellow. Oh man. Did we drive all the way down here for a dud dog? Crap!! Ms. Beth must have seen the worry on my face. She let us know that the last of the siblings had left about 20 minutes before we had gotten there and poor Tucker was kind of lost looking for them. He had been sitting at the gate waiting for them to return. Awe. Poor little dude.
The kids met the old ladies and Tucker's momma, Raven.
The kids were eyeballing Ms. Beth's swimming pool. Before they could ask, Ms. Beth told them they better grab their suits and jump on in! It was a great reward after 16 hours in a car!
While Ms. Beth, Shannon and I caught up on life, Mr Blue Eyes worked patiently on making friends.
Ms. Beth graciously let us spend the night at her beautiful home. The next morning after breakfast, it was a quick bath, many thank you's and we were back on the road home!
Thank goodness we had such a cute distraction. I am not sure I could have convinced them to get back in a vehicle so quickly otherwise.
They were pretty excited to get Tucker home to meet Handy Man.
About 3 hours in and just as many stops, my Brown Eyed Girl announced to the car, "Oh my gosh! Tucker has bugs!"
Bugs??? What Bugs???
As I glanced over my shoulder, I saw a single black speck migrate from Tucker's nose up into his forehead.
Ohhhh eMMMMM Gawwwd he has fleas......
Thank goodness it was a rental car hahaha
We drove 13 hours on Saturday, most of the day in the pouring rain. We made way too many stops for our normal road trips. The rain made potty stops interesting as I followed the kids and Tucker with umbrellas. At 11:30 pm we pulled into Hays, KS and found a hotel that would allow pets. I hauled our necessities up to the second level room. The kids were spent and all I wanted was a pillow and bed for a few hours of shut eye.
Tucker had other plans. He was finally free. The hotel room became a race track and he started grabbing everyone's flip flops and jackets. Chaos ensued. Frantically, the kids and I started putting all of our belongings on top of the desk, dressers and chairs. When everything was out of reach, Tucker started barking in joy at his new found freedom. Oh my lanta! We are going to get kicked out of this hotel at midnight. I cannot drive any longer. I just knew I was going to have to sleep in the car with this flea infested monster we had decided get. What was I thinking?!?!
I shuffled both kids into one bed. I made Tucker a bed on the floor and prayed the dark room would cause him to quiet down. Nope. More barking and now he was trying to eat the electrical cords for the TV and lamps. Hail Mary full of grace....
I grabbed the yellow demon child, held him firmly against me in the bed and in a stern voice told him, "Go nigh-night!" A little resistance at first and with a heavy sigh Tucker curled up next to me and gave in to sleep. Thank God!
A few hours later, Tucker changed positions and came up near my chest, softly laid against me and rested his tiny head at my collar bone. For a split second my heart filled with snuggly love. It was quickly replaced with visions of tiny fleas leaping from Tucker's fur into my hear and my whole head began to itch. I appreciate you snuggling Tuk, but I just can't. I gently pushed him away from my face.
We only had about 4 hours left of our drive. Still dark, I woke the kids up about 4:30 am and scooched them out the door. A quick Starbucks and we were on our way once again.
Because I had stopped 15 years ago with Boji Man, the kids and I pulled off for a quick memory maker.
Welcome to Colorado Tucker.
Welcome to our family!
Ummmm he's a puppy??? "Yes. Why?"
I was then informed that the dimensions for the carrier are 10"x14"x18" and that the puppy must be able to stand freely and turn around in the carrier on his own or we could be denied boarding. I still had the woman reserve our spot and immediately called Ms. Beth to let her know I got my ticket and mentioned the conversation.
Beth ran outside and measured the puppy for me. She came back and said, "Ummm. I think we have a problem. He's 7 weeks now and is already 11" tall at the shoulder, and 18" long. He's going to do a lot of growing in the next three weeks. I think we need a plan B."
I immediately called and cancelled my ticket and rental car.
Operation Bring Puppy Home!
Plan B:
Road Trip!!!
1 rental car
2 iPads
2 early 2000's portable DVD players
1 speeding ticket
1 hotel stay in Clarendon, TX
3 states
86508263501 cups of coffee
16 hours in the car....
We arrived at Ms. Beth's house and the doggies were waiting for us!
We entered the back yard and Tucker slumped away and hid under the table from the kids. That wasn't quite what we had envisioned... Then, he went and sat by the gate and just pouted. My first impression of Tucker was that of a sulking and depressed little fellow. Oh man. Did we drive all the way down here for a dud dog? Crap!! Ms. Beth must have seen the worry on my face. She let us know that the last of the siblings had left about 20 minutes before we had gotten there and poor Tucker was kind of lost looking for them. He had been sitting at the gate waiting for them to return. Awe. Poor little dude.
The kids met the old ladies and Tucker's momma, Raven.
The kids were eyeballing Ms. Beth's swimming pool. Before they could ask, Ms. Beth told them they better grab their suits and jump on in! It was a great reward after 16 hours in a car!
While Ms. Beth, Shannon and I caught up on life, Mr Blue Eyes worked patiently on making friends.
Ms. Beth graciously let us spend the night at her beautiful home. The next morning after breakfast, it was a quick bath, many thank you's and we were back on the road home!
Thank goodness we had such a cute distraction. I am not sure I could have convinced them to get back in a vehicle so quickly otherwise.
They were pretty excited to get Tucker home to meet Handy Man.
About 3 hours in and just as many stops, my Brown Eyed Girl announced to the car, "Oh my gosh! Tucker has bugs!"
Bugs??? What Bugs???
As I glanced over my shoulder, I saw a single black speck migrate from Tucker's nose up into his forehead.
Ohhhh eMMMMM Gawwwd he has fleas......
Thank goodness it was a rental car hahaha
We drove 13 hours on Saturday, most of the day in the pouring rain. We made way too many stops for our normal road trips. The rain made potty stops interesting as I followed the kids and Tucker with umbrellas. At 11:30 pm we pulled into Hays, KS and found a hotel that would allow pets. I hauled our necessities up to the second level room. The kids were spent and all I wanted was a pillow and bed for a few hours of shut eye.
Tucker had other plans. He was finally free. The hotel room became a race track and he started grabbing everyone's flip flops and jackets. Chaos ensued. Frantically, the kids and I started putting all of our belongings on top of the desk, dressers and chairs. When everything was out of reach, Tucker started barking in joy at his new found freedom. Oh my lanta! We are going to get kicked out of this hotel at midnight. I cannot drive any longer. I just knew I was going to have to sleep in the car with this flea infested monster we had decided get. What was I thinking?!?!
I shuffled both kids into one bed. I made Tucker a bed on the floor and prayed the dark room would cause him to quiet down. Nope. More barking and now he was trying to eat the electrical cords for the TV and lamps. Hail Mary full of grace....
I grabbed the yellow demon child, held him firmly against me in the bed and in a stern voice told him, "Go nigh-night!" A little resistance at first and with a heavy sigh Tucker curled up next to me and gave in to sleep. Thank God!
A few hours later, Tucker changed positions and came up near my chest, softly laid against me and rested his tiny head at my collar bone. For a split second my heart filled with snuggly love. It was quickly replaced with visions of tiny fleas leaping from Tucker's fur into my hear and my whole head began to itch. I appreciate you snuggling Tuk, but I just can't. I gently pushed him away from my face.
We only had about 4 hours left of our drive. Still dark, I woke the kids up about 4:30 am and scooched them out the door. A quick Starbucks and we were on our way once again.
Because I had stopped 15 years ago with Boji Man, the kids and I pulled off for a quick memory maker.
Welcome to our family!
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