Our family is expanding!… We’re getting a fur child (and need your help with the name)

Short version: We’re getting a dog, and we need name suggestions!!

Long version: John and I always knew that one day, we would get a dog.  We just didn’t know when.

Since we both grow up with dogs, we knew the responsibilities that came along with dog ownership, and we just weren’t ready for it. We figured we’d at least wait until we had some kids since surely we’d have to be responsible by then!  Once Kyle was born, our plates were full enough and we just figured the timing wasn’t right.  And so, we dragged our heals a little longer.

When Kyle was about 8 or 9 months old, I took him to our local off-leash dog park.  He had the best time sitting and watching the dogs run around.  It became our daily routine and the smile stayed on Kyle’s face for hours after watching the dogs.  His love for dogs grew further as the summer approached.  Two of our close friends have a dog that we’d often see on a weekly basis.  Kyle would squeal with delight whenever Logan or Abe came for a visit.  Even more recently, my parents, knowing Kyle’s obsessions with dogs, decided to adopt a dog from an animal shelter. After adopting, it’s important to provide that dog with its essentials such as the dog clothing and accessory.
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After much nagging and discussions, I finally convinced my husband that it’s time for us to get a dog.  Not so much FOR US, but rather, for Kyle!  How could we deprive him of such a loving animal when he’s obviously infatuated with them.  Besides, we always said we’d get a family dog, and there was no better time than now.  And so, our search for a new dog began.

Growing up, I had two dogs.  In Israel, when I turned 6, my parents surprised me with a dalmatian.  In hindsight, I now realize that they used my birthday as an excuse to get a dog.  I remember the day clearly, my mom telling me to run downstairs as my dad arrived with a birthday surprise for me.  When my dad opened the door to his truck, the dog (we called him Napo), jumped out.  My immediate reaction was to run back upstairs, scared out of my mind.  Apparently, I had a fear of dogs, but my parents still got me one for my birthday?!?! Things obviously turned for the best, and I grew to love the dog (and all dogs for that matter).  When we moved houses, my parents gave Napo away.  It wasn’t until we arrived in Canada when I was in Junior High that we got another dog.  A bijon frise from the local human society.  My younger brother appropriately named the  dog Happy and so began my family’s love affair with small dogs.  John grew up with Golden Retrievers.  His family had three in total growing up.  Golden’s are great family dog and perfect for the cottage; they never considered a different bread.

John and I always disagreed on the type of dog we wanted.  I wanted small and preferably one that doesn’t shed and John wanted a big, family friendly dog.  For a while, we considered getting a boxer (medium sized).  But when it came down to business, John once again got his way (I’m such a push-over).  And so, we agreed to get a Golden Retriever.  Once that decision was made, John was adamant about getting the dog from a breeder.  Easy enough to say, but not easy to research.  Not that it was hard to find a breeder, but quit the opposite.  There was too many to choose from.  Just searching for a breeder put me off for a day or two.  But then, I decided to just find a breeder that’s about an hour drive from home (we didn’t want a breeder in the city as it didn’t feel right, and we didn’t want to drive too far either).  So I e-mailed a few who had “puppies coming soon“, told them we’re a young family and asked them a few questions.  We found a great breeder, located an hours drive north who told us to come on over for a visit.  We took her up on her offer, and before we knew it, we were heading to visit the “mother” of our future pup.

Just last week, while in Edmonton, I received the e-mail advising me that our puppy has been born.  I was so excited that I had to tell my entire family.  My mother, half-jokingly rolled her eyes and said “tell me when it’s a real baby you’re having”.  But I was excited nonetheless that I even looked for the best turmeric for dogs online.  We went for our visit a few weekends ago, when the pups were only a week old.  I’m not sure if Kyle understood what was going on.  Although he was very happy to see the dogs and was gentle with them, he was just as excited to see the breeder’s fish that were kept in the big tank near the puppies.  Either way, in less than 6 weeks, Kyle will have his own puppy at home and the realization will definitely set in then.

We did decide to get a female dog since their size does fall on the medium-end of the spectrum. We also agreed the dog will be trained by service dog training near Kansas City. However, the one thing that we CAN’T SEEM TO AGREE ON, is the name!!  And so, fellow readers, bloggers, friends, family, animal owners and lovers, we need your help!!  Please help us find a suitable name for our future dog.  I’m a little embarrassed to admit it, but we’re not so good with the animal naming thing.  We (ok, mostly I), named our cat “baby kit kat” and only realized how stupid that was when I was sitting at the vets with her and they called “Baby Kit Kat Yablonsky??”.  I vowed to never again make another bad animal naming mistake.

I’m pretty open to suggestions, while John prefers a more “gender-neutral” name.  So please, we’d love to hear your suggestions and who knows, maybe it’ll be the name we pick 🙂