Fair and Haddie

I have been posting on my Paws For Independence blog about the outcome of Fair, but completely forgot to even mention it on this blog. Jump over here to follow along! Last weekend at Fair was simply so! much! fun!

I think the best part was seeing my son's confidence soar with his best CCI buddy, Haddie. It was fun to see him take full responsibility of all things related to her; bathroom breaks, feeding, watering, walking, showing, resting - he wanted to, and did, do it all. I was so proud of him for stepping up and taking full ownership.

Not to mention his amazing take-home display of Grand Champion Ribbons and Trophies. That was icing on the cake.

Our sweet puppy went into Heat number two for the year, and went back to the professional kennel resort last Tuesday. Yay, she held it together until after Fair. What an amazing puppy - we are thankful she waited. It would have been a totally different experience without her there at Fair, and since this was her only time to experience Fair with us (she returns in February) ... well, we are just simply grateful!

This is a traditional "on purpose" photo of Haddie. If she knows you are taking a picture of her, she will fold her ears back. We are a photo-family, and she quickly learned as a puppy what a camera was, and decided she was not a fan. Her brother does the same thing. It takes one special treat of Chicken, or extremely high-pitched squeal of fun to get this girl's ears to perk. Love that about her. 

Having Haddie gone for three weeks is different. While there are perks in that we are crazy-busy getting ready for school with supplies and clothing shopping, not having to add an extra four feet to the mix is nice and much faster ... but it is very noticeable that we are missing a big responsibility of FUN in our house.

As of last Friday, Haddie has been under our care for one year. Last year we picked her up at the airport and started this journey not knowing what to expect from her, and not knowing what to expect from us either.

It has been the best outreach program that our family has slipped into - more than we thought we would - we have enjoyed all the happy and the struggles. And no matter, she will be worth all the training we put into her young life to make her an amazing addition to her forever family. We are so proud of Haddie.

Keep reading Paws For Independence and follow along as we are nearing our final 5.5 months with our little girl. The time will zoom, so don't miss out.