Puppy!

Craig has always wanted a black lab but didn't want to get one until we had a house with a yard so the dog wouldn't have to be cooped up in a small apartment. Well, our pastor told us his friend's dog had 4 puppies (born March 13th) and he offered us a great deal so we decided to get one now. Hopefully, it will be potty trained by the time we move into a house in a few months.

We chose the smallest of the litter, a female, because we both took a liking to her right away and she was the most responsive when we called the puppies. The family that owns the dogs was really nice. The 3 daughters were always playing with the puppies (they even named them all) so they are used to being held. Before we had decided for sure that we wanted the one they named Kya they said they had to drop some horses off in Okmulgee. They left us with the puppies and gave us the gate code to get out. We played a bit with the puppies and then chose Kya and put the others back in the large pen with their momma and let the daddy dog loose, according their instructions. They called us about an hour later to find out which one we choose and how we were liking her (they hadn't gotten home yet to see who was left). The youngest daughter really liked Kya and we told her we were probably going to pick her so she had said goodbye to her before we left, just to be sure.

Oh, we named the puppy Minga. Craig was going to name a male (if we chose one) Mingus after the jazz musician Charles Mingus. Since we chose a female he created a female version of the name. :)

Our close friends and neighbors (Mark & Beth) got a puppy last year so they have been helping us buy the right supplies and have been giving us good advice on training the puppy. We'd be lost without them because this whole thing was pretty sudden--Craig talked to the pastor on Sunday and then confirmed on Tuesday that we could have one of the puppies and then we got it Thursday night!

Minga is gradually getting used to her new home and has been enjoying the chew toys we bought her. The first night she cried and howled all through the night because she misses her siblings and momma. I didn't get much sleep that night! Made me think of those with newborn babies and how they don't get much sleep due to the middle of the night feedings, etc. This should help prepare me for that in regards to losing sleep, puppy/baby-proofing a home, potty training, etc.