The winter hockey season has ended. My daughter (17) is home after school and has called to see when I’ll be home to make dinner. She calls again and tells me to hurry. I pull in to the driveway and see my daughter hiding behind my husband. This is odd so I pull the car up alongside them, roll down the window and ask what they are up to. My daughter steps out with a little ball of fur. I immediately say “No!” With our family schedule she will end up in her crate too much. “Don’t worry,” my daughter tells me, “Grandma will watch her during the day.” She hands this little yellow lab female puppy to me through the window and she curls up against me and falls right to sleep! I melted of course, and said she could stay. 
We got a crate from the garage and cleaned it up, found other dog supplies, and made a list for work the next day of anything else I might need. Lots of chew toys! I let her chew on a hockey puck but she was able to tear bits off it so I had to take it away. It took a couple of days to come up with a name. With six people coming up with and disagreeing on names we finally settled on Tess. We took her outside every time she ate or woke up, and every 20 minutes it seemed “just in case.” She is so good at “potty” now that she goes on command!
She needed vaccines so I set up an appointment with one of the veterinarians at work for a puppy check and shots. I have given dogs and horses vaccines in the past, but having veterinarians on staff I could bring her to work! (Once you get past the nervousness and procrastination of the first couple of shots you give it’s actually pretty easy!) She also did some modeling in our photo studio while she was here!
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That is how we got our “best dog ever” growing up! I begged dad for a puppy while he and I were at our house “up north” (Michigan people will get that) and when we came home, mom said, “TAKE IT BACK!” Our dog “Ruger” went down in history as The Best English Springer Spaniel Ever and set the bar for future dogs.
Tess looks like a real gem! Congrats on your new family member.
This is similar to the way my Bear came into my life. I got him at 12 weeks, he was the cutest puppy in the world. He is now my baby, and the best decision I ever made!
Not sure the best place to post this but came to the blog to search for tick removal tips and was so happy to see the video right there! Thanks! It was the first time any of my dogs had gotten a tick.
What a cutie! Congratulations!! I have found that a great chew toy for a teething pup is to freeze a fully cooked strip of boneless, skinless chicken breast. It is a bit messy, so I usually give it to them when they are crated.
I did that with my kitty.
What a beautiful puppy. I would not have been able to say “no” either. Congratulations on a new family member.