Our family has always wanted a dog. We started to plan for, think of and look forward to a dog way back in 1998. The big hold up has been me. I didn't want to get a dog, just to ignore it or leave it outside all the time. When we got a dog I knew they would be a member of the family and a big commitment - mostly for me. I wanted to wait until I was finished having my babies and felt ready. I figured the best time would be the summer right before Jane went to Kindergarten - the summer of 2011. Then, when all the kids were in school I would be able to pay a lot of attention to a dog. It was a good plan.
Then our beloved Pumpkin died.
Our whole family was so devastated at the loss of such a great pet, that I started to think about revising the plan and moving the puppy up a year. The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Jacob will be starting school in the fall and Jane won't know what to do with herself without him - a dog would be a companion for her. Rebekah will be leaving for college in the summer of 2011 - getting the dog a year sooner would give her some time to spend and bond with the dog too. I felt ready.
We started to plan for a puppy this summer, but really got stuck on a breed. I had some very specific size requirements. I knew we would want the dog to be in the house with us and be a part of the family - which ruled out anything really big like a Lab, German Shepherd, etc. We also didn't want anything so small that it didn't seem like a "real" dog (no offense to our friends who own Maltese, Toy Poodles or Chihuahuas). We also wanted a dog that was great with kids and a breed that was known for being a loyal family dog. I was really drawn to medium sized dogs, especially Springer Spaniels and English Cocker Spaniels. Rick nixed that - he had a firm rule "no curly hair." Really, I thought he was kind of kidding and would forget about it but he didn't. He so seldom has a strong opinion that I really couldn't ignore it. So we were stuck trying to find a breed. One day we were talking to our friend (who has done tons of research on dogs) and told him what we were looking for in a dog - but couldn't agree on a breed. He recommended the Entlebucher Mountain Dog.
We had never even heard of them, but immediately started to look into the breed. We were completely sold. They are high energy and require a lot of attention - but I totally get that (I live with Jacob)! My kids are active and we love being outside, so an active dog would work well with our family. The more we learned about them, the more we felt that this was the right dog for us. Not to mention we love how they look - such good looking dogs!
We started to contact breeders. Entlebuchers are not a very common breed and there are not too many breeders (one reason they have been able to maintain the integrity of the breed.) We got on one breeder's "waiting list" - in 6th position. The dog had five puppies. We got on another breeders list - again in 6th position. Knowing that we also only wanted a female pup, we felt like we needed to be higher on a breeders list to be able to guarantee a puppy, so I contacted every breeder in the US and Canada. We heard back from Hahn's Peak Entlebuchers - she said we had perfect timing.They were planning on breeding their dog soon and hadn't started a list yet. We filled out an application and put down a deposit before she was even pregnant.
Here is the result.
On May 9th (Mother's Day) Lilly had 7 puppies. Four girls, 3 boys.
We waited until they were 5 weeks old and could see what their temperament was like to determine which of the girls we would like . They are a herding dog, so we wanted a more mellow puppy, who will be less likely to nip at the kids heels & try to "herd" them.
Today we decided on "Celia" - who was the pink ribbon puppy. Her registered name has to start with a C, so we will name her Celia Amelia - and shorten it to Millie.
3 days old.
3 weeks old.
5 weeks old.
Outside playing with her litter mates. Millie has a pink ribbon on her neck.
She's in the middle above and on the right in the picture below.
I'm headed to Colorado on June 26th to get her. I'll stay a couple of days with a dear friend (a treat for me) and then get her on the 29th & take the red eye home. We'll arrive back here on the 30th. You can probably forget pictures & posts about the kids - from now on they'll all be of the dog!
None of us can wait!
