You may have noticed on my Facebook or Priscilla’s post ….. we got a puppy!
May I introduce to you…. Charlie!
As usual with the Braley’s, there’s a story!
We got Charlie last Saturday and yes that was the day Priscilla and I were driving 10 hours back from Virginia Beach.
The search started a few weeks ago when we started to search for a puppy online and at the local shelters. We had no idea what we wanted so it was a pretty broad search. My daughter, Sarah, actually found Charlie. He belonged to a family in Boston who had six or seven puppies they were trying to find homes for.
Priscilla started texting and we just fell in love with Charlie. We tried to arrange pickup for Sunday once we were back in New England. It was then that we found out the family was trying to find secure homes for their pups by Saturday because they were leaving Sunday to visit their grandchild in Virginia. Hmmm. They offered to deliver him but we still weren’t going to be there until Saturday night.
After much texting and FaceTiming we got my youngest daughter, Kat, and her fiancé, Josh, to accept delivery for us some eight hours before we got home. I think it actually made that drive seem longer knowing we had a little guy waiting for us.
When we finally got home I don’t even know if Priscilla put the truck in “park” before she ran in to see Charlie.
I’m not sure where the name Charlie came from but it just fits him perfectly. Priscilla wanted to name him “Jethro.” She just thought Jethro was a good name for a dog. While I didn’t really like the name, I was willing to go along with it if it made her that happy. The rest of the family? They hated the name and weren’t hesitant in the slightest to tell her. We went back and forth tossing out names and going online to find the most popular puppy names and then someone hit on Charlie and it was one that mommy liked.
Charlie is 9 weeks old. He is a …… this makes us laugh every time we say it….. he is a Schnoodle. A mix of a Schnauzer and a poodle. I know, I said I didn’t want a tiny dog but he’s just so cute! He weighs six pounds! After picking up my grandson Liam for over a year… this is nothin’!
We’ve had a pretty good first week. I forgot how much fun potty training can be, especially when it’s raining. I had also forgotten how sharp little puppy teeth can be on your fingers and I’ve been reminded not to leave my sneakers around.
The main thing I’ve noticed is that my wife is happy again. She’s really missed Baxter these last few months and while we still do, I think Bax would want us to be happy. I think he’s happy we’ve found another pet to share our love with. No one will ever replace Baxter or Oscar but there’s room for more.
Someone asked if I’m going to bring back Woof Wednesday, the blog that was written through the eyes of Oscar the Beagle. I immediately answered no because that was Oscar’s thing. However, the “Puppy Papers” is an interesting idea…….
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