Four years ago, our family decided it was time to get a puppy. After much discussion and searching the web for information about dog breeds, we finally agree upon a Boston Terrier. There were many reasons for this decision: medium size, short haired, easy to care for, don’t drool, good family dogs, etc.
One day not long after this, my husband went online and found a picture of a precious Boston Terrier puppy. We were in love! We promptly called the breeder to ask about her. Every puppy in that litter had already been claimed. Except one. Our puppy was the only one left! We quickly filled out the paperwork and paid a deposit, thrilled to know she had been “saved” just for us. (Or so we like to think). The breeder was almost three hours drive away, but she was the closest one we could find.
Our puppy wouldn’t be ready to come home with us for a few weeks, so in the meantime we began to prepare for her arrival. We made (multiple) trips to the pet store to purchase all the necessary equipment: crate, play pen, food and water dishes, chew toys, grooming supplies and the requisite puppy pads for training. I’m sure I missed several items, but you get the idea. We racked up quite a bill, and that was just the beginning!
We also researched books about puppy training, and purchased a few that were very helpful. Here are our favorites:
–How to Raise the Perfect Dog: Through Puppyhood And Beyond (Cesar Millan)
–My Dog!: A Kids’ Guide to Keeping a Happy and Healthy Pet (Michael J. Rosen)
–Boston Terrier (Smart Owner’s Guide) (Peggy Swager)
Finally the big day came, and we all piled into the car to make the drive over to the breeder. When we arrived, we were pleased to see our puppy seemed more calm and friendly than her litter mates – and certainly not as rambunctious as her very obnoxious brother! (As my daughter so firmly declared). When you get a puppy, you take a chance on personality as it’s hard to tell so early what they will turn out to be like (Kinda like kids, right? Except you can’t give them back). So we were thrilled to find that our new puppy, Roxie, was a sweet, friendly, social dog who loved everybody and everything.
One example of this was our first visit to a dog park. We had come late in the day as it was pretty hot, and there was only one other dog there. This dog just happened to be a Great Dane. Have you seen one of these? They are not called “giants” for nothing. They are one of the tallest dog breeds. So here comes Roxie (still on her leash) pulling me over to “make friends”. He politely lowered his giant head for a quick nose sniff, and then she went around to his backside (well above her head) and proceeded to get up on hindlegs in order to sniff his butt. Thankfully, this guy wasn’t put off by her pushiness. In fact, he seemed to ignore her altogether (maybe he couldn’t see her way down there), and trotted away to find something else more interesting to explore.
This experience helped me realize that we really did have the perfect dog for our family. Stubborn, resourceful, friendly, playful, and above all, not afraid of the big guys.
She’s our Roxie! (About 7 weeks old)
Roxie – our very affectionate girl
Our pretty girl now. (Four years old)