Out of practice...

I've become a really bad blogger. Sorry about that. I'm going to try to make up for it in the next few hours to days with a series of posts about what's been going on with the Helfrich family.

I'll start with dogs. Ever since our old dog Gordie died in September, we've been pondering the idea of another dog. Multiple dogs have been considered, but we've finally settled on one--a Portuguese Water Dog. I should say that Don settled the question, because I've been very indecisive. I had wanted a Portuguese Water Dog for several years, ever since I first saw my old college roommate Joanne's dog. He was very cute, very friendly, and the perfect size. In addition, he didn't shed. At that time, though, we had three dogs, and another dog wasn't really in the cards. The next dog I considered was a Great Pyrenees. This idea came to me after our visit to Domino Farms with my family. There was a beautiful Great Pyrenees there, and he seemed like the perfect dog. This large dog also reminded Don of his long-time wish to have a Newfoundland. Therefore, we began to consider these two huge dogs. I wasn't very excited about the Newfoundland, as I had heard that they slobbered and drooled a lot. They also are very hairy. The Great Pyrenees was a little less drooly, but both dogs seemed to be quite hairy, and the Great Pyrenees also tends to be obstinate and likes to wander. Excitement lessening, I thought about Goldendoodles again. Then I suggested another lab. Fortunately, Don settled the question by deciding to get me a Portuguese water dog for my birthday. We've picked our litter, and we should be getting our little 8-week-old puppy on May 3rd. Wow!

I'm including some of pictures of the litter we'll be getting the little guy (or girl) from. These pictures were taken at 6 weeks...