Happiness.

Well, we did it. Just over a week ago, we brought home 2 new (absolutely precious) 12-wk old Beagle puppies. My husband's boss has 2 full-blood Beagles that he bred, & there was a litter of 5 pups. 3 went to their forever homes once they were old enough, & there were just 2 left. One of the 2 was bought by a couple in NC who already had a couple of dogs. They kept him less than 2 weeks, & brought him back, saying he wouldn't obey, wouldn't stop jumping on things, etc. (Who does that?! Who expects an 8 wk old puppy to know any better?! These things take time!! People like that infuriate me, BUT, for the pup's sake, I guess it's better that they didn't keep him.)

Anyway, back to the story. The last pup was bought by a man working for BMW. His fiancee was still in Germany with plans to move over here, or something like that. It was eventually decided that getting a puppy was not a good idea, so suddenly, there was another pup without a home. (By the way, both of these people paid in full for the pups, & did not get refunds when they changed their minds. This means that we only paid to reimburse the boss for what he had spent on vet visits & food. A very good deal for us.)

Even though he did NOT plan to get them, Nate told me about it, & I admit that I wouldn't let it go. I pestered him about it until he gave in. (That was not the right thing to do, I know! I am ashamed of myself. Really.) After some initial shock at suddenly having puppies in the house again, my sweet husband has (thankfully) adjusted, & gets as big a kick out of them as I do. :) Puppies are so much fun (despite the work)! We weren't crazy about their names & wanted to choose names ourselves, so we each picked one. I chose the name Scout, and Nate chose the name Hunter. Very fitting names for them, we think! It's been so much fun to learn their (very different) personalities, & I'm pretty sure they already think of us as their forever home.

Hunter got sick last week (it was incredibly pitiful!) & had to go to the vet...it was actually very scary for a little while, but thanks to a wonderful veterinarian, he got some meds & is now back to his usual sweet, playful self. Scout is sweet as well, but can be a little terror when he wants to be, so we're working on some things with him. It will take time, but once he grasps the fact that he is NOT the pack leader (WE are!), I think everything will be great. They already walk well on their leashes, which I'm excited about, because I really look forward to taking them on walks at nearby parks; & they do well in the car (I put them in the very back of my Xterra) after some occasional crying at being all the way back there while I'm way up front! As much work as they require, I'm SO glad we adopted them!

Here are some pics of our new babies. :)This is Scout. He's got more energy than he knows what to do with, but once he starts getting tired, he's the first one to want a lap to climb into. :)

This is Hunter. He's gentle & always ready for some good ear-scratching. :)
Happiness.