Meet Maisy!

In the midst of Sean's thesis work, the busiest "busy" season I've had yet in quilting, and general toddler chaos, we decided to add another furry member to our family. Was the timing right? Absolutely not. But when it comes to family life, timing is usually never right.  

After 5 years of casually looking for another dog the same breed as Bear (a Shih tzu/Poodle, commonly called a Shihpoo), our good friend Sarah told us of a breeder in Iowa who offers that mix.  Not only were we looking for a Shihpoo, but we also were adamant that we wanted another female.  It seems that most pups up for adoption are usually males, so one can imagine our surprise when we found out that a litter of 4 females was going to be available at the beginning of October.  Whether we were ready or not, it was time to get another pup!

Bear is 8 years old and still in good spirits. She adapted well to Wes after living 5 years of her life as an only-dog, so we wanted to add a second dog before she becomes a cranky old gal. We also wanted to make sure there is always a dog in the house for Wes, who, for better or for worse, has never met a dog he hasn't loved. 

Because we couldn't make the 6 hour round trip drive to Iowa multiple times, we relied on the breeder's knowledge of the puppies' personalities to choose which of the four females would join our household. We were looking for an easy-going, "chill" dog. There is definitely no room in our lives for an adorable rascal!  After many phone conversations with the breeder, we choose pup "A".  

We let Wes choose her name. He choose Maisy after a little mouse from a book series he enjoys.

Wes was pretty excited about a new dog, and he was happy to help with preparations for her arrival. 

Wes stayed home the day we went to get Maisy (an energetic toddler who has been cooped up in a car all day could be a bit much for a puppy), but we made sure to send him pictures (of water towers) along the way.  When we arrived at the breeder's house, it didn't take us long to fall in love with Maisy, and soon we were on our way home!

We arrived home shortly after Wes woke up from his nap, and for both Maisy and Wes, it was love at first sight. 

It wasn't long before everyone settled in to that "chill" lifestyle we were looking for.

Maisy is feistier than we ever remember Bear being, but in the grand scheme of puppies, she has been pretty easy.  She absolutely adores Wes. She is the first to run to his room when she hears him wake up in the morning (even when I'm hoping to trick him into thinking we are all still asleep!), and she can't wait to greet him when we come in from running errands. There are certainly the struggles of housebreaking and chewing that every dog owner experiences, but after raising a child for the past 3 years, they don't seem quite so hard :)