Chris and I are going to put a ah … medium sized dent in our checking account towards the end of the week.

You might remember in my Sunday Green Thumb post I said:

Well … I may have something to help me get through winter, but the catch is that it will probably make me go out and face the cold more often.

I guess I’ve potentially kept you in suspense long enough.

Chris and I are going to have a new edition to the household.

When Chris gets home from work on Friday evening we’re going to take a long drive to Tilsenberg Ontario. It’s about two hours from here.

We’ll be talking this long drive in order to visit a Labrador Retriever breeder who has some yellow and black Lab puppies for sale. If we like one of the puppies and believe it to be in good health (ie if the conditions it’s being kept in are reasonable as well) we’ll be bringing home an exactly 11 week old puppy that night.

We’ve spoken with the breeder twice already and we’re fairly pleased with everything she’s said and how the puppies have been raised so far. They’ve all had their first set of shots, been wormed, had a vet check up and we’ll be given a certificate of health and a 3 year guarantee against hip dysplasia and eye disorders. Oh and the puppies have all been tattooed already as well. I think I’d rather that they were micro-chipped as I think that’s less painful for the pups but the tattoo’s already been done.

She’s a registered breeder and her pups will also be registered. We won’t have Canadian Kennel Club registration papers given to us that night, but she’s said that she’ll do all the paperwork for us as far as registering the pup and we’ll receive the paperwork within three months.

So what do you think? Does that sound reasonable to you as far as buying a new puppy from a breeder?

I’d had my heart set on getting a Rhodesian Ridgeback as my brother used to have one, might have actually had one of the first ones brought into Canada in the 70’s and I fell in love with that breed, but it doesn’t look like I can get a puppy until spring and I really want a dog now.

When we first talked about getting a dog we were talking about getting one from a rescue. I looked into it and I was all for it as most of our reptilian pets were rescues and I know how many animals need to be re-homed, but we went through such heart break when our 13 year old iguana passed away and a few of our other lizards (honest, they are lovable!) that I didn’t want to get an older dog which is what most rescues have, and then end up having it die only a year or two later.

If we decide to get a second dog we’ll definitely get one from a rescue. I went the puppy route because 1. I really wanted the whole puppy experience (yes I know I might regret saying that!) and 2. As I said I want a pet that will live for several years as I’ve had too much heart break with past pets that were rescues that came to me with existing health problems.

So if anyone has any puppy raising advice I’m all ears! Oh and what do you think of Labrador Retrievers?