Welcome to the family Emmie.

Our hearts are healing as we welcome our new little fur baby into our family. Today we picked up Emmie, our new Golden Retriever from our breeder. We brought with us a Unicorn Learning Lovey to get her mom's scent on it and hopefully ease the transition.  The boys, Michael and I are so excited for this next chapter of our lives with Emmie after losing our two dogs Ollie and Summer. 

On January 5, 2018 we lost our golden retriever Summer. This was just one year after we lost our yorkie Ollie. They were 10 and 11 years old so Michael and I had them our entire marriage and the kids had them their entire lives. Saying it was tough is beyond being ‘kind’. It’s beyond an understatement. It rocked our world, especially with the last one because of how she passed and the fact that she was the last and we were dogless. For the first time in our entire relationship, we woke up with no pup to feed or walk or steal kisses from. It’s already bringing me to tears writing this. That’s how special these animals are to us. 

The golden loved Michael and I, but when we brought home kids she took on a completely different role. No longer did she really care about us, her goal and care plan and even life plan was these kids. She was with them constantly. She never let them outside her site. Even when she went into kidney failure two years before her passing, on her sickest days she would muster up strength to follow them upstairs and sleep with them at night. She was a saint.

Her passing was nothing short of something written out of a movie or story book. She had a beautiful day. She coincidentally saw all of our family members. She played in the snow and she loved snow. We were home all day and she laid with the kids and played with them. My mom even sent me a text of my youngest playing saying ‘she’s always there’ and went on to tell me what an amazing dog she was while I went to get groceries. That was a little before 2pm on January 5 and a little after 10 pm I sent her a text that she was gone.

 
Summer had a sudden heart attack that evening and couldn’t recover due to her age and kidney failure. She had the heart attack when myself, my husband and the kids were all in the room with her, right before we were headed up to bed. All of us as a family say around her to comfort her, tell her how much we loved her and that it was ok to let go. (Hard to even get through this writing) it was a hard memory to take in but also so beautiful. We all pass. We all die. It is inevitable. But her passing was completely beautiful. We are so grateful. 

Exactly ten seconds after the boys gave her that last kiss and my husband whispered ‘it’s ok I promise, you can go now.’ She did. She took her last breath in his arms. Very, very peacefully. We sat with her for a long time after she passed trying to talk to the kids. They didn’t understand. That night was hard for the adults but easy for our children. But the months that followed got harder and harder for the boys. They were convinced she would come back. 

After much healing and trying to find peace, our name came up on a breeders list we had been waiting for. She had a little girl golden puppy and she was all ours. We had to wait ten weeks for her but we could visit her as much as we liked in Littlestown, Pennsylvania. A kennel called Tarameg Goldens. We were VERY particular on which breeder we wanted. I had many things that needed to be checked off the list. Of all of the golden retriever breeders on the east coast, they checked off every SINGLE item. We took the boys to visit our new little angel at 5 weeks old and just shy of 8 weeks old and then of course to pick her up at 10 weeks - today - August 10th.

They didn’t want the puppy at first. They saw the adult dogs playing and one of them looked just like Summer. They wanted ‘Hula’ because they were convinced it was Summer and that she had come back. The owners, with over 30 years of experience had seen this happen many times throughout their puppy rearing and breeding days and many years of having families visit. So the owner, Joel took the boys to Hula and let them talk it out to him. Man to man ;). Then he took them to see some cars and talk to them more. Whatever their convo was, when he brought them back to the puppies they understood that Summer wasn’t there and that she did have a friend for them that would grow up to be like her. They began to get very excited and won’t stop talking about it. 

So now, onto our new angel. Her name is Emmie and she is a ten week old golden retriever puppy. She comes from a line of service and therapy dogs and passed all of the training tests for if we ever need to use her as one for whatever reason later in life. She was meant to be and she was matched by the breeder to us. We were on the list for 6 months. Other litters came up but the owners Janet and Joel didn’t feel they were right for us yet. Just like all of their families, they know when the right match comes along. 

Michael named Summer and I let him name this one too. Emmie is what Mason and Finn would have been named if they were girls. Since we aren’t having anymore humans, Michael is capitalizing on the name. Emmie’s parents names are Willow and Lincoln. The property is filled from top to bottom with weeping willows which is very fitting. If you look up the meaning of a weeping willow, you’ll know what I mean. 

We are ready for snuggles. We are ready for memories. We are ready for laughs and playtime We are ready to give her HER OWN LOVEY!! We are ready for silly moments of her sneaking in the bath with the kids and trying to catch a grasshopper. We are also ready for the tiresome training and time it takes to have a puppy. Just like everything, it’s just a stage but it’s important that you place a puppy in your home when you’re ready to handle it. We are prepared for the huge messes and destruction. Most of all, we are ready for the Love to fill our hearts again and continue for many years to come. 

Welcome home Emmie. I hope you like adventure because this will be your biggest one yet!!!    Grab your pup their own lovey with code FINNSLOVEYS!




------------------------------STATS UPDATE ----------------------------------------------
Two weeks with Emmie


We are at the vet right now and of course we brought her Learning Lovey with her to keep her calm and comforted. Emmie got two vaccinations and weights 25.4lbs! Dr. Hunter said we picked a great puppy!