Bert's wanted a dog since we got married, but we weren't able to have one in seminary and then after we got to Greenville I told him we needed to wait until our youngest was at least two years old. The kids had all started asking more and more (including Hannah, who would often say long before we decided to get a dog: "Are we getting a dog this week or next week?") and so I finally caved. I'm not heartless, but I'm also not what you might call a dog person.
We wanted to get a dog that didn't shed since he/she would be inside (because of our not-completely fenced and often-muddy yard). Hannah sometimes has allergy issues so we wanted to make sure we got a dog that didn't bother her. Because of all that, we decided some type of a "doodle" would be what we needed, and then decided on a goldendoodle (for non-shedding) and a mini one at that, since it would be inside. After we put in our application with the breeder, we found one that they had immediately available, and contacted them, and had him in our house in a couple days. It was a quick process.
We totally surprised the girls one weekend. Bert went to pick him up and we called the girls to the back door when he was walking in. I loved their reactions!
We had a little trouble picking out a name (lots of different opinions) and ended up naming him Murphy, after Dale Murphy (the should-be Hall of Fame former Braves baseball player). We call him either Murphy or Murph and we think it fits him perfectly!
Murphy is a Mini Petite Golden Doodle. His mom was a 21-pound mini Golden doodle and his dad was an 11-pound poodle. We got him from Crockett Doodles, a breeder out of Greenville, and were very happy with them. They told us he would be between 10-25 pounds but I'm writing this at 8 months (in January 2020 for a July 2019 post!!) and he still is around 12-13 pounds so we think he'll be on the smaller side of that scale, which is just fine with me.
I loved this picture of him! Cutie!
For the first few months (until he was fully potty trained) we kept him on hard surfaces, so we had to block off the kitchen-living room, etc. I'm thankful we're past that now.
Claire was the most unsure about Murphy when we first got him. Sh'es come a long way but I thought this picture captured her thoughts about him well. I had asked her to get down so she could be in the picture, but she didn't want to be that close to him. Ha!
I'm kind of with Claire. The first couple months were a big adjustment for me. I may have shed many tears over the fact that he was such a demanding little thing. Then we went through a growling stage in September/October and I definitely didn't like that stage either. BUT, I will say, those early months feel like a blur now and I do love the little guy. He's been a really fun addition to our family. He does add a few more things to my to-do list every day, but I'm thankful for him and I'm thankful to see how much joy he brings my family!
Our first family picture with Murphy!
