so sweetly blessed: + 1

Our family has grown by one! We have wanted a dog for sometime now but have tried to be smart and wait until the kids were a bit bigger. Aaron and I both grew up with large dogs, and my most beloved dogs as a kid were golden retrievers named Teal and her boy Goose. The breed is an amazing family dog and in general an all around gentle giant! Well, I started to look at the shelters in our area and on the local online websites for animals and didn't have much luck. We knew that we were not in the market for a puppy - I don't have any patience left at the end of the day - how would I deal with a puppy?? As cute as they are, and even hard to resist!!! We just knew it would lead to disaster for us!

So I was looking for a mature Golden about 3yrs old and good with kids. We looked at several and they were either so old they wouldn't be around long (not a good option for our kids to get attached to) or were in serious need of training (also not what we were in for). Until I received an email about a 4 yr old golden retriever at a pet food store in our small town. I emailed the owner and she said that his owner has had him since he was a puppy and put him through pet therapy training (where they take them to visit the hospitals) and had lost her husband shortly after so started to 'collect' rescue dogs and this guy got put outside and ignored for a year or more. They had no idea how he was with kids, but we decided to meet him. Emma has always been on the timid side with big dogs - she loves them but is unsure, so we also knew that Emma would really have to click with whoever we brought home.

Last tuesday night Harley came over to meet us at our home. The moment he walked in, Emma gave him a big hug and he licked her cheek. He then walked into the living room and laid down wanting some love. After we all had our chance petting him we took him outside and realized that he played fetch with Emma effortlessly - getting the ball for her and gently dropping it at her feet - over and over and over again. After he left we immediately knew he was meant to be with us. The next morning I called his owner and said if she felt he would be safe and happy with us, we would love nothing more than to adopt him. She cried and said after she left she just knew he would be so happy with us. So wednesday after I picked Emma up from Preschool we went and picked up Harley - and we have been having fun ever since!! ;) Since his previous owners own a pet food store they said that as their 'thank you' to us for giving him such a wonderful home they wanted to help us with food and such for him. We left with a car full of toys, collars, leashes, dog treats, dog toothbrush, dog calming pills (though he has not needed any), bowls for water and food and a mat to put it all on. They said to be sure and come back in when we start to run low on food (not likely to be soon with the two 50lb bags they loaded in my car - with a tub to put it all in!!) and they would make sure we had more.

He and Emma are joined at the hip. When Harley is inside he is the most gentle boy ever and is completely house trained! When he is outside he loves to play fetch and bury his bones... thanks for reading if you made it this far! Here are some of my favorite pictures from the past few days with our new buddy.

Meet Harley:

(the coolest dog ever)