When we first decided to make the two hour trip to Livingston from Knoxville, it was after midnight on a Sunday, and we had fought the night before.
I had been searching for puppies on Craigslist for over a month, but I hadn’t been looking seriously, because I didn’t plan on getting one until mid July. That night we had split a bottle of wine, and were in our make-up phase after one of our little arguments, so Wes was being super sweet and attentive.
I had mentioned before how much I loved Australian Shepherds, and he found a litter on Craigslist. He looked at me and said, “If he’ll take $200 and that 49″ t.v. I have, we’ll go tomorrow.”
I knew it was irresponsible, because I didn’t even have $200 in my account, but I have wanted an Aussie my entire life, so my excitement overshadowed my doubts.
They spoke on the phone, and after talking to his wife, the breeder said we could have one. He sent us a picture via text, and I instantly fell in love.
When Wes and I woke up the next morning, we got ready, had a quick lunch, and began the two hour drive to the farm. After what felt like a whole day, we pulled on to a gravel road and, a mile down, we ran into a man with two adult aussies and a truck.
“Are ya here fer a pup?” he asked. I shook my head yes.
He motioned for the aussies to follow him, and as he drove his truck up a hill, they wove back and forth in front, dancing with the vehicle.
At the top of the hill, we hopped out of the car, and eight tiny puppies ran to greet the strangers at their home. The breeder picked up a puppy and handed it to me.
After picking between two puppies, I chose the girl, and Wes and I drove back to Knoxville.
At first, we called her Aubrey, but now we’ve settled into calling our pup Hazel.
Her first two weeks flew by, but she got her shots, was de-wormed, and is doing fairly well in her crate training. She’s very playful and energetic, but she’s intelligent and is learning so quickly. It’s amazing how quickly shes growing up.
She’ll be eight weeks old tomorrow, and it’s time for her to start her big girl training. I’ll keep you posted.
