Getting another dog, much less a puppy, was not on my radar. I wasn’t looking. But Sunday afternoon (11.12.23) we welcomed a new puppy into our family and it could not feel more right.
A homeschool-friend of mine recently moved and in the midst of sharing their new home, she shared a family picture that included a Great Pyrenees puppy. She’s gorgeous and it made me so happy for them to have such a great dog!
The Great Pyrenees breed is actually one Aaron and I have wanted. It was on our “dream dog” list.
Another homeschool-friend of mine who attends our forest school (11.10.23) brought up that their family is also adopting a puppy from that litter and she shared there was ONE puppy still available. I shrugged it off jokingly, but she kept telling me information and showing me pictures, making my heart melt with every sentence. She texted me the picture as we were talking and I sent it to Aaron with a bullet list –
12 weeks old
Pure-bread
Have been helping mom and dad with farm life since birth
One boy left
*insert extremely discounted price*
😭
I expected his response to be a simple “no.” like it is for every other animal I’ve impulsively offered him. But his response was “Omg so cute!!”
Later that day we talked more about what adding a puppy to our family would look like. We agreed it was an incredible opportunity to get one of our dream dogs and for such a low cost (they’re usually $800-$1,500 puppies), but obviously we had some things to weigh. Most of Saturday (11.11.23) I did research online – asking big questions like food intake, energy level, grooming needs, etc. I was surprised how reassured I became through every answer that this breed of dog would be perfect for our family – right now and longterm.
I connect with with breeder and despite her living almost an hour from us, she offered to meet us in a town 15/20minutes from my driveway. Every door seemed to be opening, and we made plans to meet up Sunday afternoon (11.12.23).
His first family was so nice and sent me photos of his farewell to his brothers and the beginning on the car ride to us. She said he was nervous, and I could tell. It was a big day for him. After we connected and I got him in my own car, the poor thing was shaking. I knew he was anxious – the first day is always the hardest… right!? Anyway, he got lots of pets and chitchat on the way home.
Aaron and I had agreed to treat him like an early Christmas present to the kids, so while I was picking up the pup, Aaron created a box for the kids to open.
Each kid had a great reaction –
Rylie = paused shock
Emmaline = squealing
Paisley = gapping mouth
Spencer = utter fascination and ignored everything happening around him as he locked his attention to the puppy with great joy
Aaron and I always said if we got a Great Pyrenees, we’d name him Appa (from the show Avatar: The Last Airbender), so we agreed that was this pup’s name. When Aaron told the kiddos, they immediately lit up. It’s one of their favorite shows and they agreed Appa was a perfect name for him.
It took a little over an hour and a nap, but Appa did get up and started exploring, sniffing and licking his new people. He went potty outside multiple times and only had one large emotional outburst that made all of us stand up and rush to his aid.
For those who remember Kylo (our 7-year-old that we got when Rylie was a newborn, disappeared for almost 2-years and then miraculously found our family again in 2020), he is doing great and has welcomed Appa well. Kylo is amazing with other dogs and he seems to like Appa. We think Appa will be good for Kylo and Kylo good for Appa.
So there’s the story. You’ll see more of him 😉