I was just saying in anther post that time is flying by! Did you know that it’s been a year since we got our puppy, Midnight?

Well, ok, we really got our Labrador Retriever on November, 23, 2007, but after the long drive to the breeders and spending about two hours with at least 10 puppies in a barn while trying to pick out which one we wanted, it was nearly Midnight on the 23rd when we finally decided on our little girl. So the 24th is really the anniversary of her first full day with us.

BTW we named her Midnight because of her glossy black coat and because we picked her out at almost Midnight. We think it’s a good name.

The day that we got Midnight was the day after a huge ice storm. So driving two hours to the breeder was a stressful trip, but I remember how happy I was driving back with a tiny black puppy cuddled in my lap.

Midnight is our first dog, so those first few months we went through a big learning curve! Of course, Midnight is only 15 months old now, so she’s still quite hyper and puppy like in her behavior so we’re still learning how to train her and cope with her energy level.

Speaking of learning curves – hiccups were confusing! We didn’t know that puppies hiccup a lot and Midnight must have had hiccups fifteen or twenty times a day! Violent hiccups that shook her tiny body. She looked like she was having a seizure every time she got hiccups!

I took this photo of Midnight the first time we took her into the backyard. She loved the snow and exploring the garden (still does!).

I’ve taken lots of pictures of her over the last year. I wanted to be able to remember what she looked like at different stages of her growth. You can see most of the pictures I’ve taken of her over at Flickr in my Labrador Retriever Puppy folder.

Midnight was quite a sick puppy when we got her. She looked healthy, but she had a very bad case of worms, a gastrointestinal infection and later an eye and ear infection developed. The breeder we bought her from kept the puppies in a barn (in a horse pen) and while the conditions didn’t look all that bad it’s obvious that the puppies didn’t get the care or initial worming meds that they should have gotten. So we ended up having to take Midnight to the vet on her very first full day with us!

She continued to be a sicky for about three months, but she rallied and she’s a very healthy dog now.

She’s actually bigger than I thought she’d every be. She was always a lot smaller than other Lab puppies that were close to her age (well if we have her right birthday (August 26th) – we’ve been told a total of three different birth dates from the breeder). She’s now tall enough that when she wags her tail energetically she can clear off the top of our coffee table, and she’s still growing! I think she’s probably still a little small for her age, but as I said she’s grown more than I thought she would given her beginning with us and her health problems.

Thanks to my loyal readers who were following this blog when I got Midnight, especially those that are not really dog people. I think every second or third post back then, for at least two months, was about our new puppy. I was obsessed with her and I guess I still am. I’m also thankful for all of the advice I got regarding training and all the items I need to take care of her properly (like the crate – good idea!).

A few final pictures:

5 months old and cute as a button

Graduating from Puppy Training Class – 6 months old

A new way to wear a Bandanna! 7 months old

It’s been a fun and educational year. We learned that we love to go out for walks in the woods with Midnight as well as watching her swim in Lake Ontario. I wonder what other great adventures the years ahead will hold?