Picking up Piper!

So it's about 2pm as I write this and man, am I getting sleepy.
So Jake has wanted his own dog forever, he LOVES them. Now that he's gotten really into duck hunting he REALLY wants one now to go and fetch the ducks that he shoots. We've been talking and talking about dogs lately and Jake has wore down my defenses. I finally broke down and said that we could get one when the time was right. (Which basically means when we have extra money) So Jake found these puppies on Craigslist.

There are 4 males, and 4 females and they were purebred for only $150!  They were in Iukea, Illinois though.. We ended up taking Charlotte's car which gets AMAZING gas mileage. I believe we spent less than $50 in gas total. We arrived at the big farm in Illinois and followed the teenager son to where the mother and puppies were. I had called (and emailed) ahead of time so the owners knew which one we were after. She had a little purple tie around her neck it was so cute! Jake and I chatted for a few minutes, met the dad, paid, got a little bag of food and got back on the road. Jake drove about 30 minutes and I drove the rest. (Only fair, he drove the whole way there)

Mostly Piper just slept the 4 hour drive home (so did Jake). We stopped at 3 different McDonalds and she immediately peed/pooed every time! We were SO proud of her!!! She seemed so happy to be with us and it was really cute to have her follow us around the McDonalds grassy areas.


As soon as we got home Jake took her out to our yard and she went right away! Jake set up her kennel (from Jake's dad) in our bedroom. It won't be staying in there permanitely but I've read that by putting it with us for a few nights it can help make the puppy more secure, and less likely to cry through the night. And she didn't cry at all! I think around 3am I remember hearing her whimper, but I talked to her in a soothing voice for a few minutes and that was that! I took her out 3 different times, about an hour and a half difference. Then Jake took her out twice (including when he moved her and her kennel in the kitchen around 6am). He fed her some kibble and gave her a little water.

I moved the cats to the office at that time because I didn't want to introduce them yet. (I just put their food and water in with them out of the kitchen). So at this point it was early morning and Jake left for work leaving me alone with the girls. I ended up taking her out to pee at 7:20, 8:20, and then right before I left at about 9:30am. Tonight my goal is to stretch out that time a bit and see if maybe we don't have to take her out QUITE as much. I don't mind, especially since she hasn't made a mess yet, but I've taken her out 8 times in the last 12 hours... I'm really proud of her for going outside like she is though!  She's now doing great! She loves her new toys and seems to really love Jake and I! I miss her so much being at work!