We Got a Dog!

Jeff and I have talked about getting a dog almost since the time we were newlyweds. When we lived in Boston we even got so far as looking at specific shelters and thinking about adopting this sweet little malti-poo named Eno. Ultimately we decided the timing was not right because we had long commutes and didn't have a yard. So we waited. Until we built a house last year and finished our backyard, then we started the dog conversation in earnest again. Jeff now has a 4-6 minute commute depending on how he hits the light, and I have a flexible enough schedule that we can both come home at lunch to feed and let a dog out when needed. We weighed the pros and cons (including the argument that it isn't as easy to travel when you have a pet). All in all, the pros outweighed the cons for us and we decided to go for it.

After some research on local breeders we decided to go with Artisan Doodles in Springville, UT (formerly in Payson, UT). The breeder, Candace, genuinely loves animals and takes such good care of all her dogs. We originally put our deposit down on a litter that was supposed to be born in October and ready to take home in December. We were going to have a christmas puppy!! Sadly the mama dog lost her litter and never gave birth. Apparently this is something that can happen with dog pregnancies -  the mom absorbs the fetuses and they just kind of disappear. We were very sad at this news. I can only imagine what it must be like when people miscarry after feeling so excited to bring a human baby into their homes. My heart goes out to anyone who has ever experienced this.

The breeder told us we could have our deposit back or get our names on the list for the very next litter of our choice (she breeds goldendoodles, mini goldendoodles, toy doodles, labradoodles, and bernadoodles). We opted to get on the list for the next F1 mini goldendoodles which are 50% retriever and 50% toy poodle. This ultimately ended up being a good thing. We were the 2nd people on the list and therefore got our pick of the litter sooner (we had been 7th on the list on the original litter). It also meant that the puppies would be born late January and we could take home in late March, so we wouldn't have to train a brand new puppy in the middle of winter. On January 25th Maddie, the sweetest english cream retriever, and best puppy mama, had a litter of 11 mini golden doodles (the sire was a red/apricot toy poodle which is how they inherited the mini gene). Eleven puppies! We excitedly watched all the videos that Candace posted every week and once the puppies were four weeks old we got to pick which one would be ours.

The boys of the litter. We didn't know at the time, little gray collar would be ours!

The whole litter together - 7 boys and 4 girls. Such cuties!

Murphy at 1 week old (Feb 1st, 2019)

It ended up being on my birthday that we got to visit Candace's home and pick our pup. It was the best birthday gift ever! All the puppies had different colored collars, and we chose Mr. Gray. He was one of the smaller pups in the litter with adorable white coloring on his forehead, chin, and chest. Candace said he was both playful and snuggly which is just what we wanted - a dog with the energy to eventually be our hiking/running buddy but also able to chill and cuddle. 

We waited until we picked him up 4 weeks later to officially give him the name of Murphy (Murph for short). He has been such a happy and fun addition to our family! Prepare for picture overload!

We expect him to grow to be 25-30 pounds eventually and have wavy soft, non-shedding fur. Yes, he's our baby now and we are totally the people with a million photos of our dog. But we're okay with that. He's a bundle of fun! We love you Murphy!