We did
so much research before settling, rather choosing, the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. After we found a reputable breeder, we made the hour+ trip to visit her, along with the momma and daddy dogs. Not only was the breeder very knowledgeable (DUH!) about the breed, she and her dogs had won numerous awards in both US and Canada. The lineage of the dogs were perfect, no health issues whatsoever. We left that day fully anticipating the momma's perspective liter and hoped that we would soon have a new member of the family.
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| his new 'house' |
Once the puppies were old enough to be taken from their momma, we showed up with the remainder of our payment and a crate (which is known as 'his house') for our sweet lil pup, who we decided to call Murphy (he is Irish after all!). We got to choose from 2 boys and I decided on the more reserved one of the two. We left and made our way home. He started crying about halfway home. It
broke my heart.
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| Already playing with Matt! |
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| His (old) favorite place to nap. |
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| cooling off after playing hard |
Once we got home we set him loose and it was as if he had known us from the moment he was born! He played with Matt for a while and then settled down into his new favorite spot- the fireplace hearth. We put his crate in our room, by my side of the bed. The first few nights he'd cry when we turned out the lights. I would get down on the floor, lay in front of the door, put my fingers in through the front, and hush him until he was quiet. It always worked. Needless to say, we immediately bonded. I loved him.
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| oh how i love thee |
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| his favorite puppy toy, "piggy" |
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| first ice cream cone... sitting so pretty! |
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| he's getting so BIG... and FUZZY! |
We noticed that his boy parts never 'dropped' and called the vet. We found out that some dogs have an issue that inhibits the descending of the testicles. If we left them alone, he would most likely get cancer at a young age. I guess the continuous heating of the gonads isn't such a good thing for puppies. Poor Murphy had to undergo an operation to permanently remove his two berries. It was so hard to drop him off and wonder about how he would respond to the anesthesia. He was in the vet hospital for 2 nights/3 days. While he was there he was also micro-chipped. We were thrilled to get him back home, but those 3 days without him were like a vacation!
He was an absolute nightmare to house train. When he would be scolded, he would urinate on our couch or bed. Not.a.good.time.at.all. As you can imagine, I was CONSTANTLY scrubbing carpets, beds, and couch cushions. After about a year of his shenanigans, and after much thought and consideration, we decided to sell him. It wasn't going to be easy for either of us, but we weren't willing to compromise the state of our household and the belongings within it any longer. I posted him 'for sale' and had 2 serious inquires 2 days later.
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| sweetest puppy face that I've ever seen! |
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| yeah, that's attitude at it's best |
I joke that Murphy must have known he was going to get the boot, metaphorically speaking, of course, because that weekend we saw a completely different dog. Completely different.
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| he's become an incredibly dog |
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| he's even softer and fluffier than he looks! |
We didn't sell him. And it's the best decision we had made up to that point (after purchasing him, of course)! He has become the world greatest companion. Yeah, he's a pain in the ass sometimes, but he's such a sweet and loving dog. He loves to cuddle with Matt and I, adores our niece and nephews, is excellent with other animals, and is the perfect combination of a super fun and chill dog.
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| Jacob, Matt's nephew, and Murphy |
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| he loves the snow |
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| without a doubt, my favorite photo of him- it shows how happy he is! |
It goes without saying that I love my dog! I cannot wait to see him with a little one later this year. He's going to be the best big puppy brother any baby could ask for.
