Christmas definitely came early in my house. As I posted on Instagram yesterday, we finally got a sister for Hugo. This may come as a surprise, but Michael and I have been in the process for months to find the perfect dog. We knew we wanted an English Springer Spaniel, female, not quite a puppy but not an adult- we both work full time and we wanted a dog that was already somewhat trained and out of the puppy phase. And Michael wanted the dog to be field bred- so he can take the dog bird hunting, a habit he assures me he'll make the time for. I had a Springer growing up and I was begging to have one again.
Michael gets very very serious when it comes to dogs. But he's right, this dog will hopefully be in our life for a very long time so we better pick the right one. We researched for months online, learning about the best breeders near us. We went to a field dog trial, to get to know the bird dog “community.” Never in my life did I think I would do something like that, but I actually enjoyed it. We met with a few different breeders and dogs but when I saw this dog I knew she was it.
We actually first met her on our way home from Thanksgiving but we wanted to make sure. So after meeting with the last dog, Michael and I spent hours making a pro and con list- tossing and turning over which dog to get. But it was decided, we had to have the little dog from Louisiana.
Sunday morning we made the 5 hour drive there (plus 5 hours back), anxious about seeing her again. As soon as we got there she nuzzled her brown spotty nose right up to me and curled in my lap. I started tearing up then and there. It's a little silly, but I just knew we had the one.
She goes by the name “Gamey.” We haven't decided if that's the name she'll keep yet. She's a 10 month old English Springer Spaniel and a little on the shy side right now. Hugo welcomed her with open paws and was ecstatic to play with her all night. But I could tell he was a little perplexed when she went and laid down in his bed and he looked up at us as if to say “Oh, this is forever?”
I can already tell she's going to be my little sidekick. She follows me around the house and crawls into my lap as soon as I sit down.
It's the best Christmas present ever!
