*This blog has not been updated in a billion years... This post started out as a Facebook status, but got waaaayyy too long. Apparently I had a lot to say!*
So... A couple of weeks ago, this happened...
After [2.5-4 years] a lot of asking/ begging/ negotiating (and nightly prayers and monthly letters to Santa...), things fell into place for us to get a puppy.
The original plan was to get a puppy before Wrigley started to show his old age- Wrigs could help "train" the puppy, the puppy would keep Wrigs playful & the puppy would be a great comforter after Wrigs died...
Then we had the opportunity to be temporary guardians of a teenager AND found ourselves halfway through an unexpected pregnancy- needing to furnish a nursery, as well as buy a vehicle big enough for 5 car seats & 3 adults in 3 months time...
Add in my extreme postpartum mood & anxiety disorder- complicated with OCD, PTSD, suicidal ideation and more; a puppy was placed WAY on the back burner.
8 months later Wrigley passed away when we thought we were starting to see the end of the PMAD journey. When we buried him, we buried small pieces of us. (Some of those pieces we didn't even know were gone until Theo came.) I decided then that I was never going to get another dog. Wrigley was perfect for our young family and losing him hurt more than I realized. There was no way we would find another dog to fill his void.
However, for the last year+ I have had 4 of my 5 kids, my hubby and even friends tell me why we needed another dog. My quick answer was "I'm overwhelmed with the blessings I have and I'm allergic to dogs" -all of this happening while I researched hypoallergenic dogs, dogs that won't snap in half when a 6 year old elbow drops them, and breeds that are good for emotional support/ therapy.
William's "sensory outbursts" were getting more frequent and scary- there were several times he told me he wanted to die. My heart ripped apart every time thinking that my PMAD had ruined my sweet sensitive boy. Then I started asking different questions.
He didn't want to die forever, he wanted to visit Wrigley in Heaven. When Wrigs died, William lost his best friend, his favorite soft sensory item and his weighted blanket. I had totally overlooked the fact that Wrigley wasn't just a pet, he was also William's therapy- well, all of ours really.
After all of this I knew we needed a dog- but I needed a dog that we knew the history of (how would the dog handle a sudden screaming outburst and hug attack?), so a shelter dog made me nervous; we needed a dog that we could train from the start to meet our needs and to be able to handle our unique household, so anything older than 6 months wasn't our ideal. I'm allergic to dogs and still overwhelmed with the house and a Shelty, like Wrigs, has So. Much. Fur! So what breed do we go with? I prayed and researched and prayed some more about what direction to take. There were so many intricate things that a dog for our family would need to fit.
God answered the breed question while we were visiting my parents at a campground- their "neighbors" had a labradoodle. It was cute, soft and fairly hypoallergenic... THEN!! William went up to this stranger's dog, wrapped his arms around the dog's neck and then dropped his full weight and hung.
My heart stopped because I thought for sure his face would get chewed off!
... but the dog stood still and took it. She looked a bit annoyed, but didn't try to get William off or retaliate. Nothing. Just stood there as if she knew William needed something warm and fuzzy to squeeze. I didn't know if I should cry or cuss, but at that moment I was ready to cash in my IRA for that dog.
After searching the pros/ cons and costs of labradoodles and emotional support dogs, I decided (yeah- I didn't actually discuss any of this with Brad- yet) that we would tap into our savings and get an emotional support dog. [Labradoodle puppies typically range from $800-$1200.]
I found a breeder 20-30 minutes away, with puppies in the $800 range and several dog trainers in the area, then I worked up an ADHD version of a cost analysis. I was going to low key meet the breeder and the puppies before mentioning to Brad that we were getting a puppy. (I knew he would get a pup before I would even get a chance to finish telling him, so I needed things lined up first) I messaged the breeder and got several red flags ("I ain't got none dogs now but I can get some I jus need $200 deposit cash how many dogs u want" then the next day "So u want a dog or not" was a response that didn't sit well with me...).
After more prayer and searching, I found a breeder that was 2-3 hrs away. [She has 2 female poodles and only does 1-2 litters a year AND was raising the puppies with her family- so not a puppy mill; hugely important!] She had also reduced the price of her pups because they were 11 weeks old. I messaged her a million questions about how the dogs would handle being treated like Mexican wrestlers, being forced to snuggle and how they would do for anxiety- she answered every question in a timely, calm fashion. She shared that she was trying to get some of her pups into service dog training, then she googled reputable therapy dog training centers in our area. (AND she used punctuation...) I finally sent the info to Brad (while he was working, naturally,) and he called me in 2 minutes time. 
We discussed logistics and long term budget and if we were really ready for a puppy.
THEN I found out that not only was the breeder more than happy to meet half way... she also likes to do a "goodwill dog" with each litter- basically she & her husband pick a family and offer a discount so that the adopting family has extra money to go toward therapy training... She picked us 
So we basically paid for part of the stud fee and vet bills. AND he's house broken!
WHAT?!?!
Without further ado, I would like to introduce you all to
Henry Theo Epstein Stolte [Call name: Theo]
God heard our cries and knew our needs; and in His perfect way brought us Theo.
***A few days after Theo came home, William was having a 'sensory day' and things escalated very quickly. He was in the throws of a melt down and I was unable to help. I took a deep breath and prepared myself to bear hug a thrashing Hulk-child... Instead I brought Theo over and laid him on William's lap- instantly William started bawling and burrowed his face into Theo, telling Theo about his hard day. Within 3 minutes, Theo accomplished what would have taken me 20 minutes.
***The breeder from Heaven: Rae @ Remi's Doodles
