Our new Golden Girl

A loss of a pet is something I hope that no one has to go through. I know that isn't a reality since pets live a lot shorter life than we do. When you lose a dog that is so much a part of your family there is a tremendous void in your house, your everyday routine, in your life. The 3 weeks that Annie has been gone have been some of the busiest and some of the quietest. We have felt like there is something missing and there is, Annie. We wait to hear the thud of her tail when we get up in the morning or the tags on her collar jingling in the middle of the night. We wait to see her at the top of the basement stairs when we get home. And she isn't there. Then there is the constant conversation with the kids. Madison is constantly talking about missing Annie and Annie in heaven with Jesus. She constantly talks about getting puppy, a young one that won't die. This is a hard thing to deal with.

We have kept in touch with the wonderful people at Adopt a Golden through all of this. The founder of the organization is the one that picked Annie for us and she gave us the best gift that we could ask for. Their hearts mourned with us, especially since Annie wasn't that old.

We knew that we would be getting another dog. Brian and I are dog people. We just didn't think that it would be this soon.

We have been praying as a family for Annie to be healthy and having fun up in heaven. Madison tells us everyday that she has met new friends and loves her daily walks with Jesus. We have also been praying that Jesus and Annie will pick out the right dog for us and send her to us when the time is right. Well Jesus and Annie must have known the void in our life and didn't want us to be so sad.

The crew at AGA knew what we were going through and suggested that we just "take a look" at a couple of dogs, but really pushed one in particular. She is 11 months old and has had it pretty rough. She was a stray and then got sick and had to have emergency surgery. NO WAY. We said we couldn't go through that again. Well a very long and cool story with a lot of "God winks" as my mother in law calls them, we felt like God was giving us a very strong nudge that this was the girl for us. We met her and she was a little Annie. Her demeanor was very similar and she even looks like her. She lit up with the kids and her and Maddie became fast friends.

So we picked her up on our way home from Tennessee. She is a very smart and good dog, but it has been a while since we had a puppy in the house and it is a lot more exciting around here. Last night she was in the crate in our room until about 4 am when I let her outside to use the potty. She then came back in and I let her sleep on the foot of the bed. I woke up this morning to find her spooning me with her arm over my stomach. Oh boy are we hooked.

I have to say that last night when we brought her home was one of the saddest moments of the last few weeks other than when Annie died. I thought how about how much this little one was not Annie. We already are creating fast bonds with little one, but she will never replace Annie Bell. It is so nice to hear the pitter patter of little paws and there is nothing like a dog snout in your lap. Thank you Annie for sending her, you did a good job.

Now may I introduce our newest member of our family, Chloe!