Right around my sixteenth birthday, my family got our first dog. Her name is Mackenzie and she is a wonderful furry family member.
When we got her, I remember wishing from that day forward to get a Westie puppy of my own. Fast forward twelve years and my wish has now come true.
On the way home from Ann Arbor this weekend Mr. Lively and I made one important stop along the way. We needed to meet and pick our puppy-to-be. My parents generously offered to gift us our first family dog as our wedding gift. A very sentimental gift considering my love affair with Westies began when we got Mackenzie oh-so-many years ago.
Yesterday at brunch before Mr. Lively and I selected our pup, we did a bit of cramming via a Puppies for Dummies book we borrowed from a friend (it’s really well done by the way, I definitely recommend it).
From the temperament chapter, we figured that we’d want one of the more active and energetic male pups. Though my personal dream of getting this little Westie was always to get a female puppy (named Elsie), Mr. Lively has now entered the picture. He did some heavy lobbying for a male dog. And given the glowing reports we have heard about the boy Westies, we decided to go with a guy.
Getting to play with four six-week-old Westie puppies was amazing. And also a bit overwhelming. At such a young age they largely look alike and the task of selecting just one to take home seemed daunting at first.
But within the first few minutes of sitting with them while they circled us and tugged at Mr. Lively’s shirt, one little guy promptly sat in my lap and started giving me kisses on the hand. As he sat there his tail began to wag furiously and I was in love.
I promptly passed him over to Mr. Lively who also received kisses and cuddles.
After observing them a bit more together and on his own, we realized that the little guy who loved being held was not the rebel rouser we thought we’d select. He was a bit quieter and not quite as attached to his litter mates. But his confidence and sweetness stole our hearts.
In a way, he picked us.
We cannot wait to take him home with us in November. For the next three weeks I’ll be staring at photos of him on my phone and computer, trying to stay calm.
A happy birthday indeed. It’s going to be a great year.
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