Surprise we came home with litter mates

[Shelli Welter]

How did this happen?

I'll start at the beginning With Cheyenne (dachshund) and Dakota (Golden doodle).

Just over 13 years ago we decided we wanted a dog.  Being that we were getting married in a few months (and had an 11 month old) we tried to compromise on a breed.  I wanted a small dog (smaller poo!) and hubby wanted a golden doodle.  We compromised and got a dachshund and a golden doodle.  We got Cheyenne (dachshund) Friday evening and Dakota (golden doodle on Sat morning).  They were about 5 days apart in age.  We kept them separate for a few months, but Cheyenne cried less when they were kenneled together, so for 12 plus years they shared a kennel.  Dakota passed away at home 8 days after being diagnosed with lung cancer.  Cheyenne has been ok, but we all miss Dakota greatly.

So we thought another "big" dog was the answer and decided we would adopt.  So we brought home a yellow lab in November.  Maya was 3 years old and almost impossible for us to control.  With our 3 kids (10,11 and 14) we couldn't keep her because they couldn't handle her.  She also would get very wound up and step on Cheyenne to the point were Cheyenne growled whenever she came near.  She was adopted again in Feb to another family with no other dogs and older kids.

So I had the idea that we should call up Dakota's breeder and see if she still breeds dogs and if by some chance she has a dog with the same lineage as Dakota.  She is still breeding golden doodles AND she had 2 females left for a May 6th 2018 pick up (I called in early April).  I said I would talk to the hubby and see what he thought.  Hubby was happy to hear this news and said how do we pick between the 2?  I called her back the next day and there was only 1 girl left so I sent a deposit.  The kids and hubby were all excited.

We talked about names and everyone wanted to honor Dakota and keep the city/state thing going.  I tossed out the name Daytona (we all visited there last year) and 4/5 were on board right away.  Our oldest came around after she got to pick the middle name (Savannah).

As the month passed we started to buy some puppy things and count down the days until we would be on our way to pick up Daytona.  I chatted with a co worker who has 2 dogs and he told me stories about them being together and how fun it was to see them play together.  I went home and told the hubby we should get 2, he looked at me like I was crazy, and the topic was dropped.

Pick up day!

The day finally arrived and we set out on our 3 hour trek to pick up Daytona.  When we arrived the previous people were still deciding between the last 2 females so we chatted with the breeder.  I told her I had a snuggle puppy with me and wanted to get some scents on it before we left and she said we could have the last boy play with it a bit.  Soon after it was time to meet our new puppy, so she grabbed Daytona and her brother and brought them to the play area for us to check out Daytona and for him to get his scent on the snuggle puppy.

The boy's personality was immediately a velcro dog.  He laid at our feet and he reminded us all of Dakota.  Daytona was playedful and looks a lot like Dakota did as a pup.  We mentioned to the breeder how sweet the boy was and she told us his story.

He was the last boy (7 total in the litter, 4 were girls) and that his deposit had fell through.  She said an older couple were going to buy him and earlier that week the man had called and said his wife was going into the hospital and he wasn't sure when they could get the puppy.  On Friday he called and said the diagnosis wasn't good and that they decided with her illness they could no longer make the time commitment to a new puppy.  This story hit home for Josh and I.  His mom passed just over 3 years ago from cancer and a month long stay in a hospital, my dad had a stroke, was hospitalized for 4 month and passed just over 2 years ago.  I looked at hubby through our sunglasses and we both just nodded. We had silently agreed that we would like the boy too.  I asked the breeder if we could buy him as well and she said yes.

We then finished up the sale and started the 3 hour ride home.  In the first 20 minutes everyone agreed on a name, Denver.

[Sherri Hollenbeck]

They are just beautiful. It was meant to be that they stay together and become party of your family. You will have so much fun with them!

[Leslie J]

They are adorable! You’re in for a busy, exciting summer! Everyone will want to go to your house and pet the puppies!

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Enjoy those pups! Congratulations!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Congratulations.  I read your second blog first!  Both pups are adorable.