Everyone's been wanting another dog for quite some time so Murray & I started stalking the fan page of the breeder where we got Murphy and sure enough, more puppies were coming around Christmas!!! Keeping this gift a secret was SO hard!!! The excitement was killing us but we really wanted to surprise the kids so we managed to hold it together!
This past weekend was the first time the puppies were old enough to visit so we loaded up the van and told the kids we were going to visit their grandparents. (technically true, we just didn't mention the detour to a kennel on the way :)
Being used to the 2 hour cottage trip, they got bored on the 5 hour journey, especially after the batteries to their iPods died. (they are apparently incapable of entertaining themselves for more than 5 minutes without the aid of electronic devices and filled the rest of the time with "why is it taking so long? are we almost there? How many more minutes??? wash, rinse, repeat!)
By the time we arrived, I'm not sure if I was more excited to go see the dog or just to get OUT of the vehicle!?!?!?
Along the way Murray took a wrong exit which was at about the point we should have been leaving the highway to go their grandparents but of course there were no familiar sights and they started asking our ETA all over again. We got back on the highway quickly and told them we'd made a mistake and had to get back on the highway. They were unhappy that the driving wasn't done but not overly suspicious.
Finally we pulled into the yard, which of course was NOT the yard they were expecting. I told them we just needed to make a little stop before going to their grandparents. "ohhhhhh nooooooooo. What do we have to go here for? Where are we? What are we doing?..." Then Murray told them to read the sign on the barn. "Labrador Retrievers & Puppies". They read that and Lovey burst out " Are WE getting a PUPPY?!?!??!?!" Sweetie echoed her question with just as much volume and enthusiasm. I answered quickly and told them we were NOT getting a puppy today and then grinned and said " we're just picking one out!"
This past weekend was the first time the puppies were old enough to visit so we loaded up the van and told the kids we were going to visit their grandparents. (technically true, we just didn't mention the detour to a kennel on the way :)
Being used to the 2 hour cottage trip, they got bored on the 5 hour journey, especially after the batteries to their iPods died. (they are apparently incapable of entertaining themselves for more than 5 minutes without the aid of electronic devices and filled the rest of the time with "why is it taking so long? are we almost there? How many more minutes??? wash, rinse, repeat!)
By the time we arrived, I'm not sure if I was more excited to go see the dog or just to get OUT of the vehicle!?!?!?
Along the way Murray took a wrong exit which was at about the point we should have been leaving the highway to go their grandparents but of course there were no familiar sights and they started asking our ETA all over again. We got back on the highway quickly and told them we'd made a mistake and had to get back on the highway. They were unhappy that the driving wasn't done but not overly suspicious.
Finally we pulled into the yard, which of course was NOT the yard they were expecting. I told them we just needed to make a little stop before going to their grandparents. "ohhhhhh nooooooooo. What do we have to go here for? Where are we? What are we doing?..." Then Murray told them to read the sign on the barn. "Labrador Retrievers & Puppies". They read that and Lovey burst out " Are WE getting a PUPPY?!?!??!?!" Sweetie echoed her question with just as much volume and enthusiasm. I answered quickly and told them we were NOT getting a puppy today and then grinned and said " we're just picking one out!"
The screams and questions of "REALLY!?!?!? We're GETTING A PUPPY?!?!??!" rocked the van but then I noticed one little girl was not sharing the excitement. I jokingly asked her if she was disappointed with the news and she burst into tears and stammered out "Murphy! I feel like he'll think we're replacing him!"
Poor little thing was terribly worried about Murphy's feelings. Sweetie told her that Murphy would be happy because we were getting another lab and that he'd think "oh they really liked my kind!" but that didn't turn her around. Knowing nothing cures sadness like a warm wriggly puppy, we got her inside and all concerns quickly dissipated once she had this little guy in her arms. Not another tear was shed, only smiles all round.
Poor little thing was terribly worried about Murphy's feelings. Sweetie told her that Murphy would be happy because we were getting another lab and that he'd think "oh they really liked my kind!" but that didn't turn her around. Knowing nothing cures sadness like a warm wriggly puppy, we got her inside and all concerns quickly dissipated once she had this little guy in her arms. Not another tear was shed, only smiles all round.
It was a tight fit in there with the breeder, the five of us, two whelping boxes, dog supplies and 18 puppies but we spent an hour jammed in there happy as clams!!!
