Her name is Blu.
Yes, Blu as in Aggie Blue, Big Blue, Aggie Blue Mint Ice Cream, True Blue... you get the idea. Did you really expect anything else from us?
It's kind of funny how we got her. I causally mentioned to Jeff that maybe sometime in the next few years we should think about having another baby. Two days later, we were picking out a puppy! I guess that would be a "no" on the baby front. Plus, I always had my dog, Sam, to run with growing up and he kept me in fabulous shape. I've wanted a good running/walking partner for years. But deciding to actually go through with this was really hard for me. I'm not the kind of person who makes a decision based on whether something looks "cute and fun." I tend to over-think and over-worry about everything. I thought through it all... house training, destroyed furniture and yard, training, cost of food and vet expenses, if my kids will like a dog, if the dog will like my kids, if Jeff will like a dog, what we would do with a dog when we go somewhere, getting up at night, barking, shedding, and on and on and on. Everyone told me not to do it for all those same reasons. I was really surprised at how negative everyone was. Apparently all my friends are non-animal lovers. After awhile I felt like no one thought I could be be responsible enough for a dog. I was freaking out about if we'd just decided to intentionally ruin our lives. That's when I said, "Eh. What the heck. Time to make my first decision based on something looking cute and fun!"
She was born on June 21, 2012. One of 14 pups!!! 14!!! Three died, leaving 10 fat puppies and one tiny runt (4 chocolate, 4 yellow, and 3 black). We got Blu from a friend in our neighborhood who has a huge, purebred, chocolate male lab named Marley. Blu's mom is a sweet, yellow lab (unfortunately, not AKC registered).
Before taking her home, we went over to visit the puppies every week. It was really fun to see her get bigger and bigger and bigger. In the words of my Uncle Dan, we have quickly learned we got a "major dog." Her paws are BIG! Here are some pictures of the first time we saw the puppies, before we had picked her out. Surprisingly though, we got a lot of pictures of her even though we didn't know it at the time.
Which puppy should we pick?
Her poor momma... it was her first litter and let me tell you, from one momma to another, I felt sorry for her with those swollen tits. Ouch!
This is the night we took Blu home at 6 weeks old...
...before I remembered that puppyhood is essentially infanthood only with sharp teeth. Here's hoping we survive the biting, little surprises in the living room, chewed up furniture, barking, and all night long potty breaks.
