Happy Birthday Chip

Although I consider myself to be a pretty sane person I will say that I may have a very unhealthy attachment to my dog! I love him so much, he has brought me so much joy since we brought him home, I can't imagine what my life would be like without him. It all happened so fast, Pat and I decided that instead of buying each other expensive wedding presents that we would get each other a puppy, the gift that keeps on giving. Flashback to November 17th 2008, Pat and I had just gotten back from our honeymoon and because Jasper has no airport we flew into Louisville and we got in so late that we spent the night at my dad's house. The next day was traumatizing. Although I had not grown up in the house the act of leaving my dad's house for the last time was really hard for me I broke down and a slight panic attack ensued. Fortunately my dad must have sensed it coming and he took off before it happened. My car was packed to the brim with wedding gifts and all of my other stuff... It was time to move to Jasper. Well usually Pat and I ride together back and forth, but because Pat had his car in Louisville we had to drive separately. One of us also had to pick up our new puppy who was waiting for us in Charlestown Indiana, so mid panic attack Pat decided to be the one to bring home baby.

Pat and I both left Louisville at the same time and as soon as Pat payed for and picked up the puppy he was racing home to Jasper to see his new wife, the whole time on the phone with me. Pat likes to remember that Chip was so small he had his head on his leg and his butt was on the seat belt. Aww. Well this day was not only traumatizing for me but for Chip as well. It turned out the breeder had given him all of his puppy shots that same day and had not bathed him. So I arrive at the new/old Japser apartment and start unloading all of my stuff and up pulls Pat with our bundle of joy. Ohhh how stinky he was! And in accordance with the previously mentioned OCD tendencies I quickly plunged him into a pool of water and scrubbed him with doggy shampoo. To our amazement Chip slept through the night no crying or whining. Boy was that deceiving. For the next 2 months Chipper woke us several times a night because he had to go #2! The poor puppy was suffering from an allergy to chicken and we had no idea!

My plug for the breed:Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier- Since we got his food situation under control, Chip has been the most wonderful dog we could have imagined. He fits our personalities to a tee. He sleeps late and plays hard and is so intelligent. He is the perfect family dog. While my 7 year old cousin was staying with me for a week he grew so attached to her he actually slept outside her door all night. He is the perfect dog for anybody who suffers from allergies because he is hypo-allergenic and does not shed (my OCD agrees with this), also I think he is the perfect size he is 35 lbs right now and might grow to be 40. He is small enough to sit in your lap but big enough to be a dog's dog. I think it was a great experience to share a dog before we have a baby, it let us see who will fulfill what parenting roles and kind of let us settle in with a new responsibility.

As I sit here blogging away about my fur baby he is laying at the bottom of my chair sleeping. How much joy he has brought to my life. Happy Birthday Chip! Here are a few photos of our year with Chippies!