Day One

Sometimes in life, someone special comes along. For my husband Matt and I, that someone special was our new puppy, Maddie. Even on our honeymoon in Hawaii, I was missing my parents' dogs, who I still consider my own dogs. I have always been an animal person.

Matt and I dated three years before getting happily married March 28th. It's been almost five months now that we have been married, and we have had a blast, but we knew someone was missing. The house has just been a little too clean. We have both wanted a dog for a few months, and I have been searching Petfinder endlessly to find one. We even put in an application for a dog named Rusty who we loved, but that didn't work out. I had a seemingly endless list of terriers and spaniels, puppies and adult dogs, that we wanted to go visit in animal rescues. Throughout this process, Matt and I have become quite educated about shelters, and we are moved by the urgency of so many animals' needs. So, we decided getting a rescue dog would be the best decision for us.

Two nights ago- wow, it's hard to believe it was only two nights ago- I found a Cocker Spaniel listed at our local humane society. The listing said her name was Sadie and that she was four and a half months old. "A very sweet girl with lots of energy." It sounded too good to be true, so I called the humane society the next morning, had a great conversation with the lady there, and by the afternoon, Matt and I were meeting our new girl. Right from the start she gave us kisses and wanted to be petted. She excitedly ran up to everyone who walked by- both dogs and people. When I tried to get her to drink some of the water that was outside, she put both feet in it and splashed herself. Apparently she likes to play in water.

Her story goes that her mom (Madison) and dad were found walking beside a road. No one came to claim them. Her mom was pregnant at the time. The humane society took her in, and then a little while later our puppy (and 4 brothers) was born at the humane society. All the puppies were adopted, including Sadie. However, the elderly lady who adopted Sadie said Sadie tripped her too much and brought our girl back, even though she had already become best friends with the lady's cat. We aren't complaining, though, because we got our girl out of it.

We took the only girl puppy from the litter home yesterday afternoon. She is almost 5 months old and was born March 23rd, just five days before our wedding. Talk about new beginings.

She was so excited to smell our yard and explore her new house. We thought she would need intensive crate training because she was tinkling everywhere when we first brough her home. We now realize she was just tinkling because she had been spayed the day before we got her. Today, we were very happy to find that she is already (mostly) housebroken! What a difference a day makes. Last night she was very happy to meet both sets of her grandparents and her Aunt Aimee, and while she was playful, she was still a little hesitant. (She loves my dad who lays on the ground and lets her chew his nose.) However, tonight is a different story. Already, she has started running around our living room and kitchen, and her favorite thing to do is give kisses!

She keeps going to our bedroom door and scratching on it to let us know she needs out! It's the cutest thing. I guess she figures scratching just any closed door will do.

I also have been trying to crate train her so she has a "safe place" when she gets scared or I have to leave for a few hours. I am trying to make the crate a happy place by putting toys and treats inside. She is already on to my tactics, though, and has started planting both feet outside the crate and reaching in to snab the treats and then quickly make a break for it. She is so brilliant. And stubborn. She reminds me of my childhood dog, Angel. She even looks a lot like him. Stubborn but unimaginably loyal.

She is already so attached to us. If she's in her crate, she cries when either of us leave the room, but if she's out of her crate, she follows us around to make sure she knows where everyone is at all times.

Last night, Matt told her to sit and she actually did. Apparently her other owner not only housebroke her, but also taught her to sit and shake. We wonder what else she knows!

She loves her toys. I love buying them, so it all works out. Seeing her do a happy dance around the living room is just the cutest thing.

Matt and I are so excited about our new puppy. It feels like she's been here weeks rather than hours. She just fits. We are thankful to have this blessing as a new part of our family.

We are going to rename her Maddie in honor of her mom.

Let the adventures begin.

-Ashley and Matt