Love At First Sight

In life do you ever just think, “That was meant to be!” This past fall I had one of those moments. I guess it’s taken a while for me to sit down and actually write about it, but better late than never! Ready for a heart warming, funny, and enjoyable read? Good, because that is exactly what this blog is!

It was September 2021. I’d been talking to my Mom about getting a new mattress on my bed. Knowing who I am and where I’m at in life, I was desiring to buy an “organic mattress”. Now was the time to do that, but I knew some research needed to be done first. I contacted a mutual friend of my Mom’s and mine, and she provided me with some information. I went off of that info and branched out from there. Long story short, I found a store called “NaturePedic” in Minnetonka, MN where organic mattresses are sold. My Mom, brother, and I were headed that direction within the next week, so that store was on the list of stops to make.

Jumping forward to the next week. We pulled into the parking lot of “NaturePedic”. Only Mom and I went into the store. After chatting with the owner and testing some beds, I’d decided which bed was right for me! The owner asked if I wanted to order it now, or wait until the “Black Friday Sale” where I would save significant money. I obviously opted to wait. 😉 Since I would be waiting for the bed, I asked the owner if she would write down the information so that I knew what bed to order when it came time.

She turned and walked towards her desk, and that’s when my heart melted. A 15 pound Goldendoodle puppy was lying on the floor by her desk! I couldn’t contain my excitement and started walking towards the puppy, and at the same time asking the owner, “Can I pet your puppy?”

Yes, you could say it was love at first sight! LOL! The owner agreed, saying, “Well, it’s Poppy’s (the puppy) first day at work, so she may dribble because she’s excited. That’s alright though, I can clean it up.”

I slowly approached Poppy with my hand out, and Poppy nuzzled right into me. The owner watched absolutely surprised, in amazement. I pet the puppy for the next 15 minutes or longer while Poppy’s owner got some information from me for making the mattress order to put in at a later date.

I have to admit, I’m an animal lover… and always have been. If you know me personally, you already know that though. Poppy the puppy is truly the most calm, well mannered, and overall best puppy I’ve ever met in my life. That, my friend, is saying a LOT! Poppy really made an impact on me and I just couldn’t shake it. A year ago, I thought we were about to get a puppy, but that idea was thrown out with the bathwater. Seeing and MEETING Poppy stirred something in me that felt right, for right now.

As Mom and I walked out of the mattress store I said, “Poppy was the best mannered puppy I’ve ever met!” Mom did agree. I told my brother, who was in the vehicle waiting for us, about Poppy, the puppy. He just smiled and shook his head (he knew I was taken with the puppy).

Well, on the 3.5 hour drive home later that day, I blurted out after joking around, “I want a puppy!” Since we WERE already joking around, my statement wasn’t taken seriously. For the next week we (my dad included after he heard the puppy story) joked around about getting a puppy. Finally, on a Sunday afternoon, I sat down with my parents and said, “I’m tired of joking around about a puppy. We need to talk seriously about getting one.”

The vote was 3-0. We were all in agreement… it was time to get a PUPPY!

Mom and I knew what I/we wanted. Now, to the internet to find a breeder. Mom found one, although it was located in Utah. She contacted the gut. He responded back that same Sunday night from our earlier conversation about adding a puppy to our family. In a matter of a few hours we were put on a waiting list for a female Goldendoodle puppy. Mom and I both desired the same kind of puppy, the color, and definitely wanted it to have curly hair.

The breeder had told us a litter of pups were to be born at the end of October. Also, that the week before delivery they would know how many puppies were to be born. However, genders wouldn’t be revealed until birth.

So, there we sat being number six on a waiting list for a puppy. We were literally only a few weeks away from possibly having a puppy! Those few weeks were long for the reason of “pure anticipation”. Fast forward. By the time the x-ray was taken to see how many pups the mama was carrying, there were now only three people in front of us on the waiting list. The other three people that had backed out! We were now number four on the list. And the x-ray? It revealed four puppies were to be born! Oh, but I guess I didn’t mention that the first two people on the list also wanted females. The third person on the list would take a male or female. We were number four, and wanted a female. So, the waiting game would continue, as we now had to wait until birth to find out how many males and females there’d be.

The day before the puppies were born, the breeder contacted me saying, “You’ve moved up to number three on the list!” The person in front of me on the list decided to wait until spring to get a puppy. I was ecstatic! The breeder said, “I’ll contact you when the puppies are born.”

I went to bed that night thinking and thanking my Papa God, “You are always in control. Your will be done and I trust that.” I’d came to peace that if it were meant to be, God would make it work that I’d be getting a puppy from this litter. If not, then the next one. I went to bed with peace in my heart.

The next morning I woke and rolled across my bed to grab my phone. I was still very sleepy, having a hard time keeping my eyes open, but the breeders name was on my text message screen. My heart skipped a beat (or two) and I felt fully awake. I unlocked my phone and briefly pondered, do I really want to read this before thinking, it’s now or never.

I opened the message and read, “4 healthy puppies born this morning. 3 girls and 1 boy. Looks like you’ll get your girl!”

I literally couldn’t contain my squeal of delight as it burst out from deep within! My Mom heard me and hollered, “What’s going on?” She whooped a happy WAHOO as well when I informed her! You literally could not rip the smile off my face that day!

In the next two weeks, I was sent puppy pictures a few times. There were two female puppies that I was especially fond of. Don’t get me wrong, they were all cute… I just really loved two in particular. I hoped I’d end up with one of them. Which one I’d get, I wouldn’t know until week number five, when the people in front of me on the list made their puppy choice. At week three and a half, I was sent a message that two puppies were taken and that two females were left to choose from. And guess what? These were the two female puppies that I was especially fond of. I was informed I’d more than likely get one of them! OH MY HEART!!! Yes, the smile on my face was big that day too 🙂

On Thanksgiving, 2021, I found out the puppy I would be getting. I was ecstatic! My entire family was too! The little girl that was soon to be my pup was going to be a perfect little fit!

On December 16th, my Dad and I made the 17 plus hour drive to Utah to pick up my little girl. The weather wasn’t great as we neared Utah, and some interstate roads were shut down, causing us to detour three plus hours. After a very short night of sleep (maybe five hours) we picked up our newest family member. OH MY HEART!

Christmas, 2021, was special to say the least. But honestly, life with this newest addition to our family is such a gift. God sure works in mysterious ways. Papa God knew the desire of my heart. I honestly wanted a puppy, but knowing my WANTING was selfish- I’d prayed, telling God, “If You want it to happen I trust You will make it happen.” And He made it happen.

My puppy, Agate, and nicknamed Aggie, is doing great. She is very intelligent and catches on quickly. She is potty-trained (mostly all trained by eight weeks, before we’d picked her up) and has that down pat! Aggie is loved by all, yes, even her two sisters that are cats, Chloe and Little Bear. They are adjusting to each other, which took a lot of time and tests, and interestingly enough they are ALL adjusting well, finally! Again, God doing what He does best… making everything work just as He has planned.

I truly feel blessed. It’s a joy to see my three furry friends together enjoying life, living a good life. They bring such joy to my family’s and my life. And Aggie often brings joy to our clients at “Helping Hands” as well, as she hangs out at work with us. What a joy she is! Seven weeks ago, I started the “K9 Training Institute’s ‘Total Transformation Masterclass'” that teaches Aggie how to become like that of a “Service Dog”. She’s doing very well with this training! Us humans are learning just as she is, enriching our human and dog bond with each other.

What a joy each of our pets are! And my-oh-my, all I can say is, “God brought each one of my furry friends into my life in His perfect timing, in His own way.” Read the blog “SURPRISE!“, followed by “MORE SURPRISES!“, and ending with “Furry Friends!” for other fun, surprising, loving stories about how my two cats came to live with us.

Life is a blessing, and our furry friends are a blessing as well! I’m so glad we have them in our lives! I marvel at how Papa God works, allowing everything to happen. What a blessing!

I hope this story, at the very least, made you smile! But hopefully, I really hope it warmed your heart too! Have a beautiful day and give your furry friend a few extra bits of attention today!