Newest Member of the Family

So, Saturday morning Kris and I slept in till about 8:30 a.m.which was awesome I must say.  We got ready, grabbed a quick breakfast, and headed towards Morrilton to get the kiddos their extra special surprise.  It was this little guy.

Here's what happened.  A few weeks ago, the boys and I were at the park.  There was this cute little puppy hanging out there that didn't seem to belong to anyone.  He was really friendly with the boys and Layton just loved him.  There was a girl there that said she was going to take him to an animal shelter and asked me if we wanted a dog.  I said that we'd love to have one some day, but had just redone our back yard and weren't too sure if now was the time to have a dog go and dig it up. Right as she was about to put it in her car, the Bryant Animal Control truck drove up.  I guess someone else had called and reported that there was a stray dog.  Somehow I ended up with a business card of the girl that worked for Animal Control.  She said that he would probably be up for adoption in about a week if no one claimed him.

So, I went home and called Kris and kind of jokingly told him that I had found us a dog.  I explained everything to him and described the puppy.  He said, "Whatever you want to do."  I about fell out in the floor, I was so shocked by his response.  I waited close to a week later and called about him.  They said that they already had some interest in him and he would probably be adopted.  I asked what kind of dog they thought he was and they said probably a pit bull or pit bull mix.  I had already suspicioned that it might have been a pit bull and decided that I wasn't too sure about that.  No offense to anyone who has a pit bull, but I have heard too many bad stories about them.  This put an end to getting this particular dog.  However, over the next week or two Kris and I had talked about the possibility of really getting a dog and decided that we could do it.  It needed to be the perfect kind of dog though.  Someone at Kris' work suggested a Beagle.  We are not inside dog people, so a Beagle started sounding perfect.  We researched them some and checked the paper and found multiple listings for Beagle puppies.  I had really wanted to make this a gift from Santa, but we decided with us traveling over the holidays it might not be a great idea to have a brand new puppy. 

When we decided to have our over night date, we thought this would be the perfect time to get the dog without the kids knowing about it and surprise them.  That's what we did.  I must say I looked forward to it so much and was quite giddy the Friday night before and all Saturday morning.  We drove to near Morrilton, and picked out a male 7 week old, full-blooded, AKC Beagle puppy.

We had Jeff come out to the car and grab the video camera to get the kids' reactions on tape.  It is too long to put on here, but I am so glad we have it.  I had my camera ready and we put the puppy down at the front door and Kris walked in.  Hannah saw the dog and said something about there being a puppy out there.

We were all just standing around and I heard Mimi saying "Well, I wonder who's dog it is" or something like that.  Ha!  The kids began to really take notice.  It finally hit Hannah and she asked if it was for them. 

This was their reactions!  Too funny!  Hannah's look was one of surprise and disbelief.  Lincoln was just all smiles.

Kris went and woke Layton up from a nap to show him.

The first thing he said was "Wow! or Whoa!"  He was so excited!

Then, he got a bit concerned when he heard him whimper. :-)

He was getting Layton's belly button.

Layton thought this was hilarious.

Lincoln was a little unsure about holding him at first.  The puppy was so excited and sniffing all around.  Lincoln didn't know what to think.

Hannah was just thrilled.  She was about as giddy as I was. 

Someone asked Layton if he wanted to hold him and he reached out and grabbed him and pulled him to his lap.

Giving the puppy love.

I am so excited for the kids to finally have a pet.  They needed one.  It will be so good for them. 

As for his name, at one point Hannah made the comment that it looked like he had a little dash on his head.  We had been trying to come up with a name and this jumped out at me.  I commented that "Dash" might be a good name and she liked it.  She and Lincoln agreed on it, so Dash it is!!!

Kris had been working on a dog house prior to us actually getting Dash.  When the kids asked him what he was building and said that it looked like a dog house, he just blew them off.  Not sure how he did this.  Anyway, he had it mostly done when we got Dash.  So, that afternoon he and Lincoln worked on it some more together.

Exciting times at the Keim house!!!  I am looking forward to lots of fun with our Dash!