My super rambunctious furbaby, Hank turned 3 on May 23rd! We adopted Hank after losing our best girl Caddy to a ruptured liver tumor. It was heartbreaking and coming home without her was hard. Michael and I discussed many times getting another dog and agreed to adopt an 8-week old puppy.

Finding Hank

After contacting a friend, we contacted Green Dogs Unleashed (GDU) for our puppy search. My belief is, rescue organizations are always the route to go and I told Michael when we married we would always adopt instead of buying a pure breed. I don’t have anything against pure breeds and I’ve had many but there is always a dog in need at shelters/ rescues and that is where I want to go.

Caddy

Caddy was a pure breed golden retriever and one of the loveliest dogs I will ever meet. She had an amazing personality. I miss her! And while she can never be replaced, I wanted another dog!

Michael’s Requirements Versus Mine

Michael had lots of requirements for what he wanted in our puppy but I’m not that picky and D-O-G was my requirement. Small or large, short hair or long hair, I don’t really have too much of a preference and my previous dogs have been all sizes and breeds from Pomeranian to Great Dane to Heinz 57. I’ve loved them all except maybe the Pomeranian and he was appropriately named Land Shark by my vet. Let’s just say he had a tendency to bite without warning but my ex loved him and so Josh had a good home until his passing.

Michael likes big dogs and was insistent that was what he wanted. It turned out when we contacted GDU there was a labradoodle who had puppies in foster care. We were sent a couple of pictures and after talking with Michael, he agreed we should pursue adopting one! I filled out the application and waited anxiously to hear back. I was over the moon with excitement when we received our approval. The trouble was we had to wait until their 1st vaccines to see them and then of course we had to wait until 8 weeks to bring him/her home.

Our 1st Visit

Our first visit was to pick our puppy! I couldn’t choose even though there were only two to pick from. It was a litter of 4 and you pick based on your approval date. One puppy had already been chosen and they thought the female in the litter would have sight issues. She wouldn’t be a good fit for us since we would always have to worry about her safety with our horses. Our horses are fine with dogs but it was a chance the rescue did not want to take and I applaud them on their thoughtfulness in placing her and any other dog with a handicap. I made Michael choose and he wanted the bigger puppy which was our Hank!

Hank Comes Home

I took tons of pictures of them that night and could not wait to bring him home! When the day finally arrived, I was at work so Michael picked him up and brought him home. After work, I excitedly left work and hurried home to greet our new addition!

Raising An Energetic Puppy

Raising a good puppy is hard work! I immediately enrolled him in obedience training and have kept it up! He loves to play fetch and learn tricks. It’s so fun to watch his mind work and see him learn new things! Currently, he knows how to sit, down, stay, circle me, back, come, touch, leave it, and wait to be released to eat. I’m currently teaching him to stay after I throw his ball and wait for my release! He is very food motivated so once he figures out what you want, he has the command down quickly because he wants that treat.

Hank is super cute and has an adorable personality! He regularly gets the zoomies and has more energy than he knows what to do with! That means I spend lots of time with him and his sister, Kasey outside throwing their chuck-it balls. I love this goofy fellow and he is incredibly entertaining. When we lost Caddy, I knew we couldn’t replace her but Hank and Kasey provide us with lots of joy and entertainment!

Hank Goes to Puppy Bowl XV

Did I mention Hank is a Puppy Bowl Puppy! Yep, he was in Puppy Bowl XV! He was submitted by Green Dogs Unleashed and we made the trip to NYC to let him participate! It was a blast and he scored the last field goal of the game in the 4th quarter, ensuring Team Ruff’s victory!

Hank’s 1st Birthday

On Hank’s first birthday, I wanted to celebrate so I ordered a pupcake through Charlottesville Dog Barkery! It was awesome and Hank and Kasey loved it. Last year I didn’t because of Covid but I wanted to continue the tradition this year so I contacted Rod and he didn’t disappoint! I love getting the cake, staging it, and taking lots of photos of it! The cool thing is, Hank and Kasey will leave it and let me take photos of them with it! If you want something special for your furbaby, be sure to check out Charlottesville Dog Barkery!

Hank’s 3rd Birthday

So here’s to Hank turning 3 and hoping for many, many more years of fun and excitement with this cutie! And be on the lookout for Kasey’s Happy Gotcha Day in July! Enjoy!

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