The Story of How Cody Joined Our Family

The day before Cody came to life with us I went to the Farmers Market and the mall with my mother-in-law and the girls. Erik and his dad were floating the river and fishing that day. Us girls decided to take our produce home and eat lunch before heading off to the mall for some clothes shopping for the girls. During that driving around we noticed some folks set up on the grass near Wal-Mart with puppies for sale. We saw the sign that said "Golden Retriever Puppies" and could see the cute, furry little bodies playing around in the grass. We could tell they were adorable even as we drove by, which is exactly why I didn't stop.

I said out loud to both Karen and the girls, "I am not stopping they are so cute, I'm sure we'd fall in love." And so I didn't. Even as we drove past them three times, I never stopped. I just drove on by because I knew it would be trouble if I stopped.

That night I mentioned to Erik we'd seen them and how cute they were. He said something about I wonder if they'll be there tomorrow, but that was it. The next day we were dinking around the house, doing homework with the girls and getting ready for Monday. I was in the laundry room starting some laundry, Erik was outside, chatting on the phone and said to me through the window, "I'll be right back." He hopped in my car and took off. I had no idea where he was going.

Turns out, he'd driven down to where they were selling the puppies. He talked to the guy and looked at the pups and came home pretty much with his mind decided, but his hands empty. He came in and said, "They have a really cute, calm one down there. What do you think? It'll be a lot of work, so are you ready?" I was sort of surprised to hear those words that day, but not that I heard them. I knew that someday we'd get a dog and after our fiasco with Pedro, we knew that we needed a big, outside dog. We'd recently camped with friends that had Golden Retrievers and we thought that would be a perfect dog. Not to mention it's one of the breeds of dog that Erik has always liked. 

It seemed like these pups were maybe meant to be. So, I said "Yes. I'm ready for a puppy." (Ha ha, little did I know I had no idea what I was saying.) So Erik took Kera with him down to see if we could get a deal on a pup. A couple hours later he came home with this cute, furry little guy that we'd decide to name Cody.

Erik said he picked the lightest colored and calmest of the litter, and I believe him. Cody is so good already at staying put in his "spot" in the house. He's playful like a pup but is pretty chill too. He loves the girls, and me too since I spend every day with him. He's definitely a lover and not a fighter.

He's a great dog, but he is a puppy and by default that means he takes a little more attention and responsibility. And it's been a bit exhausting and stress-inducing, but each day it gets easier and I'm more confident in our "puppy-rearing" skills. We've had to have a couple talks with the girls about counting the cost of having him and how they are responsible for him as well. They've both stepped up to the plate so wonderfully, taking him out to potty, playing with him, taking him on walks and even *gasp* picking up his poop without complaining!

Some days I still can't believe he's a part of our family.

I'm excited to see what kind of dog he grows into and all the fun we'll be able to have with him like hiking, camping and playing outdoors.