Meet Mr. Darcy

Today, at long last, we brought home our new Golden Retriever puppy. Dear readers, meet Mr. Darcy.

Younger Daughter and I went to fetch him this morning. He was a trooper on the drive home, snugging up to her in the back seat of the car.

Once home, of course, he enchanted everyone with his sheer cuteness.

I tried taking him out to the garden with me, but it was beastly hot and there wasn't much shade for him, so that didn't last long.

Here he's seeing the chickens for the first time. Lesson #1: No chasing the chickens! Okay, maybe "no peeing in the house" is Lesson #1....

We've been trotting him out into the yard every 15 or 20 minutes to do his business. So far no indoor accidents.

It's a big wide new world for little Darcy, but he seems to be getting the hang of things.

He alternated bouts of playing with bouts of napping, of course. After all, he's still a baby.

With baby feet.

And a seriously adorable face!

Mr. Darcy is the first of our soon-to-be two canine companions. He's in for a long and happy life with us, God willing.

All together now: Awwwwwww

They say the best way to deal with the grief of losing a beloved dog is to get another dog as quickly as possible. So...

Meet my new puppy.

He's a four-week old Golden Retriever. Obviously he's way too young to leave his mama yet, but I'll take him home in four or five weeks.

All my life I've chosen large and stubborn dog breeds (Malamute, Pyrenees, Pyr crosses, etc.). This will be the first time I'll have a breed known for its easy training. It will also be the first time I've had a male dog (all our prior males were Don's dogs).

Don will be getting a Yellow Lab puppy in a few weeks as well, so we'll raise and train the dogs together. Right now the house is way, way too quiet without the happy activity of canine companions.

I am, however, clueless what to name him. Any suggestions?

Puppy love

This is a HUGE post with LOTS of pictures. When you start scrolling down you'll understand how irresistible these guys were!

This is a litter of eight Great Pyrenees puppies whelped by Lydia's mother and father. Seven of the eight pups are already sold (if you're interested in the last, a female, let the folks at Agape Ranch know). The pups will be going with their new owners within a week or two, so the girls and I decided to indulge in some "puppy love" while we could.

Lots of awwww factor here!

First thing we saw upon arrival was Lydia's father, Elijah. Magnificent animal!

Oodles of puppies!

Elijah meets kids.

Awww...

Here's Ruthie, the puppies' mother.

She's like the Pied Piper, isn't she?

Snack time!

Methinks Ruthie will be glad when the puppies are gone!

Speaking of which, this little girl is the last unsold puppy. If anyone's interested, speak up!

After a couple hours of hard playing, the puppies did what puppies do best: napped. It started with one...

...and soon, there were more. Puppy pile!

Thanks, Carol and Jim, for letting us play with the puppies!