Meet George

Natalie has had her heart set on getting a dog for a long time. We told her that she needed to raise money and also show that she could be responsible by doing her jobs and helping out around the house. She kept her word and really did become so much more helpful without us asking. I felt like she had kept her word and it was time to get a dog. Joe still wasn't ready, though. I happened to read a blog post by a recipe blogger we like who talked about her decision to get a dog and the breeder they used in Idaho. She had a lot of our concerns and it seemed to help Joe a bit. The dog was cheaper than some other options we were finding, too. Quarantine was a huge time for people getting dogs and they weren't a lot of adoptions available. The breeds we were finding in CA were all really expensive. The breeder was in Hagerman so very close to Jerome, which helped too. So, we bit the bullet and got on the list for a puppy. He was going to be born around Christmas. He ended up coming on Jan. 14th and over spring break at the end of March it was time to get him. Natalie was so excited. Nate and Lizzie were excited, too. Eli was not excited at all :).  Joe and the older kids went to pick him up. We had asked for a tri-color puppy but ended up with a black one. He does camouflage sometimes and gets stepped on but he is so cute. This was the first picture they went me after picking him up:

He's a Havanese puppy so he's not too big but we decided to start with a smaller dog. There are definite perks--small poops, easily picked up and controlled, etc. There are some downsides, too. He doesn't seem quite as smart as the bigger dogs I've had and house-training has been a STRUGGLE. But, I don't think most of us regret getting him. I can't answer for everyone. :)

Eve has loved him from the start:

He has been pretty gentle with all of her grabbing and pulling for the most part. He did start to leave scratches on her for a bit and so we had to really nip that in the bud but he does better now. They are really more like siblings sometimes and it's funny to watch them. He does not like her too much yet although he does like the food she drops.

They do play sometimes, too:

His true love is Natalie. This is him waiting outside her door while she was on zoom school:

Natalie did a great job taking care of everything while she was on spring break but of course once school started a lot more fell on me. I saw this meme one day and laughed:

We all love how soft he is and he's been a pretty chill dog for the most part. It has been a challenge and has definitely taught Natalie about responsibility. Sometimes she does't love that part but I think she loves having something that loves her so much. I love the little guy, too. I love when he lays by my feet. He's a pretty great addition to the family.