The Newest McCarty

No, it's not pictures of Ruth Ann...yet. This is our new puppy...yet to be named. Some of you already know what we've been through this past year, but for those that don't, this is why we're crazy enough to bring home a new baby and new puppy within 2 weeks of each other.

Arch had a dog named Cleat that passed away last fall. Cleat was only a few years old, but at the end of the summer 2007 he started losing weight very rapidly. The vet couldn't figure out what was wrong and honestly didn't have much time to figure it out. His passing was very quick. So I decided to get Arch a golden retriever puppy for christmas last year. Arch named his new puppy Rookie and he was a precious puppy dog. At his first vet visit we found out he had a heart murmer. I took him to Auburn to go to the vet clinic there for an EKG and we found out he had a congenital heart defect which meant he would only live about 2 years. However, Rookie ended up being with us for only a few months. He passed away in the spring due to congestive heart failure. I had stayed intouch with the dog breeder I purchased him from during all this and when he died I called her to let her know what had happened. She offered us pick of her next litter to replace Rookie. I told her I appreciated the offer, but at this point Arch had buried 2 dogs in 6 months and this would have to be his decision. She didn't think her next dog would have a litter until the end of the summer, so I had plenty of time to talk with Arch once his heart had healed after Rookie's passing. To my surprise 2 days later Arch asked me if the dog breeder had ever asked if we would be interested in having another puppy. I told him about the offer and we decided we would take her up on it. The momma dog was suppose to have gone into heat in April which meant we would take a puppy home in August. Perfect timing...well before Ruth Ann's arrival. However, things didn't work out quite the way we thought. The momma dog finally delivered these puppies in mid-October making them ready to come home 1 week after Ruth Ann's due date. Luckily, this dog breeder is great at crate training her dogs and they come home nearly house trained. Arch figures we'll be up in the middle of the night with a baby so we might as well be up with a puppy. I'll also be home for 3 months, so I'll get lots of bonding time with the puppy.




Here's our pick...he has a pink ribbon around his neck so when others come to look at the puppies they know he's taken.

Here is the whole litter...12 total!