Welcome to the Family, Belle!

*This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

For those of you who don’t follow me on Instagram and therefore haven’t seen the news or any of the new content… WE GOT A NEW PUPPY!!!!

We adopted sweet Belle (AKA Bellie) on August 12, and every single one of us is absolutely smitten with her.

The road to her adoption was full of doors closing in our faces as well as lots of signs lighting our path and letting us know we were on the right one, and I truly believe that everything happened exactly the way it needed to happen to bring her home right when we were supposed to.  I’ve been praying for a year and a half now (right after Maui died) for God to bring another pet into our lives in his perfect timing (and to let me know when I was ready because I wasn’t sure I’d ever really know), and as always, he knew exactly what we needed exactly when we needed it. 

After Maui passed away, I thought for sure that I was going to struggle to ever love a dog again as much as I loved her, and I had a lot of mixed emotions for a long time after she died about bringing another pet into our lives.  Olivia, meanwhile, is the epitome of an animal lover (she truly loves all things that live and breathe), and she has been so heartbroken since Maui left us, and she has been begging for another dog for over a year. 

It took me quite a while, but I finally started warming to the idea of having another puppy back in the spring.  However, every single time we were away from home all day at the kids’ activities or traveling all over in creation (especially in June!), I shut it down because I knew we were just too busy.  The freedom to do what we need / want to do without having to find someone to care for a pup has been much more important to me in recent months than getting a puppy.

However, after all our travels in June, we discussed the rest of the year / next year for travel, and we decided that for the first time in years, we were all 100% okay with staying home for fall break.  Looking ahead, we also knew that spring break 2027 was going to be our off year for big travel since we did Disney this year, so it occurred to me that starting in July we’d be home for a very long stretch of time without any major travels other than concerts and quick overnight trips.

A light bulb went off, and I told Brian that this would actually be the perfect time to bring home a new puppy because we have no plans to leave any time soon.  Once I got that idea in my head, I started allowing myself to daydream about having a little pup snuggling in my lap while I watched college football and playing with a little pup by the Christmas tree again, and I then really started warming up to the idea.  Cozy season is right around the corner and there is nothing cozier than having a sleeping pup wrapped up in a blanket in your lap while you sip a warm beverage while watching college football and soaking up all your holiday décor!!!!

Even after all that, I still wasn’t totally sold, but I did start searching for dogs that were out there for adoption just to see what we could find.  The very first thing I did was reach out to Maui’s old breeder to see if she still bred puppies, but she told me that she stopped doing it because she was getting older and just didn’t have the energy anymore.  I really had my heart set on getting a puppy that was potentially from Maui’s lineage just because I thought it would be so special, but it just didn’t work out that way.

After that, I broadened my search but I couldn’t find a single breeder in our area, I couldn’t find a single puppy at our local shelters that were small and that were babies (Olivia was adamant about getting a baby because she missed that phase with Maui and she wanted to experience it), and I kept hitting dead ends everywhere I looked.

For a while, I cooled my searches because I was disappointed that nothing was working out, and then one evening at Sunday dinner, my parents’ next-door neighbors came over with their brand new Coton de Tulear pup and we were all swooning over her.  They told us where they’d gotten her and they’d told us about their great experience there, and I realized that I had completely forgotten that place even existed. 

When the kids heard their story and found out there was a place where we could go play with puppies, they begged and begged to go.  So, the three of us went over there on July 14 after we finished working at outreach.  I told them on the way there that we were absolutely not getting a puppy that day, so they had to promise not to fall in love. 

There was a male Yorkshire Terrier there that day (you probably remember him from this post), and while he was darling, he was soooo hyper.  He was also a boy, and while I love boy dogs, too, I had my heart set on getting another girl.

I started following that place on social media after that, and then on July 22, they posted a carousel of photos of all the puppies they had available, and I IMMEDIATELY fell in love with the baby in this photo…

CAN YOU EVEN?!

We lived a whole lot of life the next couple of weeks, soaking up the last bits of summer break, and all the while, I could. not. stop. thinking. about. that. puppy. 

Since I couldn’t stop thinking about her, I finally decided on August 3 to click the link to get more information about her, and it led me to their website (which I honestly didn’t even think to see if they had one).  Within an hour, I’d received a text message from one of the employees with all her information.  The price they were asking for her was INSANE, so I thanked him for the info and then let it go because we were not about to pay that much money for a puppy.

I was sad, but I never stopped wondering in the back of my mind how we could possibly make it happen because I just knew she was the one.

I reached out to my parents’ next-door neighbor to ask her for more details about their experience getting their pup, and she was sweet enough to tell me exactly how much they ended up paying for her and how they were able to make an offer and get her for a much lower price.

I kept thinking about the pup for the rest of the day, wondering if I should pursue her, and that evening on my walk, I saw a super bright, very wide rainbow shining brightly in the sky, and our house was right at the end of it.  <3  I got chills and teared up, and then I had a wave of peace wash over me.  I just knew she was the one and I told Brian that was Maui’s way of telling us that she approved.  <3

A couple of days went by when we did absolutely nothing because we were too busy with back-to-school things, and finally, on Wednesday, August 5 I told Brian that if she was still there Friday, we needed to go there and meet her and then shoot our shot with pricing.  The only thing was – we had to pray that nobody else came along to adopt her until then. 

That evening, another beautiful, bright rainbow appeared in the sky on my walk, and I just knew for sure that it was yet another sign.

On Friday, August 7, Belle was miraculously still there, so Brian and I went in there ready to make an offer.  I just knew that we’d be surprising the kids in the car line with a new puppy later that day and I couldn’t wait to make it happen.

We went in right as they opened at 11 AM, and we played with her for a good 30 minutes.  We loved her demeanor and the fact that she doesn’t bark, and she was cute and floppy, but not crazy and wild like the other puppy had been.  I fell head over heels in love with her and I was so ready to take her home.  I even asked her if she wanted me to be her mom and she agreed.  ;o)

When the time came to make our offer, they were willing to come down on the price a little, but it was nowhere near our asking price, and unfortunately, their price was firm.  There was no going back and forth like I thought there would be and they came nowhere near the price we were willing to pay.  I was so sad walking away and leaving Belle there, but I still felt strangely at peace because I still knew she was still meant to be ours one day.

The girl who’d helped us had told us that Belle had been there for nearly two months, so she told me to check back in 2-3 weeks because they would lower her price eventually if she didn’t get adopted.  Well, after stalking their website all weekend to see if Belle was still there, on Tuesday, I decided to try again even though it hadn’t been 2-3 weeks.  As a matter of fact, it had only been four days. 

I texted the girl and reminded her that we’d love to adopt Belle if they would meet our price.  She told me she would talk to her boss, and then shortly after that, she came back with another offer that was just barely over what we were willing to pay.  I called Brian and he said, “Go get her!”

So, I did!

Unfortunately, by the time I got the message, it was time to pick up the kids from school, get Olivia home to get ready for dance, and then get her over to dance.  The girl had told us that we could either come and get her right away, or we could go and put down a payment for them to hold her for 48 hours, but they wouldn’t take the payment over the phone.  I had to be there in person.

After I dropped Olivia off at dance, I hightailed it over there as fast as I could, and thankfully, she was still there.  After I put the money down, I was elated because I knew she was officially ours, and I was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and celebrate!  I went over to say hi to her before I left, and she greeted me at the window and looked at me sweetly.  Gah, I love her face.

And guess what happened again that very evening??  ANOTHER rainbow appeared in the sky over our house!!!!  Just amazing.  You can barely see it in this picture, but I promise it's there!

The next morning, Brian and I got there right when they opened at 11 AM, and would you believe that the person in front of me all the way there had a Missouri license plate?!  That may not seem significant, but that’s because I haven’t told you that Bellie was born in Missouri!  If that wasn’t a sign saying that she was meant for us, then I don’t know what is!!

Brian and I signed all the paperwork and took her home on Wednesday, August 12, so it’s official!  We surprised the kids with her later that day and you can read all about that here.  It was a moment I’ll never forget.

Since we brought her home, she has been exploring and getting to know us and her new surroundings, and she is settling right in.  We already know her eating and sleeping and bathroom patterns plus her likes and dislikes, and she seems to be just as happy here as we are to have her. 

Now that you know the story of her adoption, here’s some random information about her…

 

-       She was born April 22, so she is 17 weeks today. 

-       She’s a Yorkshire Terrier from a breeder in Stoutland, MO.

-       She has a certified pedigree along with a family tree (even though we literally don’t care about any of that because all we wanted was a cute, cuddly dog).

-       Because of her special pedigree, she is eligible for dog shows, but again, I don’t care about any of that, and we will not be registering her for any of it.

-       She weighs in around six pounds if I had to guess… we’ll find out today, though, at her first vet appointment!

-       We were told she will likely be anywhere between 7-11 pounds as a full-grown adult based on her family lineage.

-       Her mom’s name is Whimsical Wendy, and her dad’s name is Smother’s Creek Connor (I have no idea why… that’s just what is on her paperwork LOL).

-       She doesn’t get excited about her treats after going to the bathroom outside.  She usually just plays with them, and she only sometimes eats them.

-       She seems to be mixed up with her potty habits… it seems that she truly thinks she’s doing the right thing by going to the bathroom in the house so she will hold it for hours while she’s outside and then go straight inside and pee on the floor.

-       She has no clue how to take a walk… we put her in her harness and on her leash last Friday and we finally gave up after about 20 minutes because she would not walk.  Haha.

-       She is verrrry mischievous and she has a lot of energy.  We are constantly telling her no, picking her up, and taking things away from her… it’s like having a human toddler.  Haha.

-       She looooveeeessss to chew on anything and everything… especially cords, plants, and anything that dangles.

-       She slept through the night (8 full hours) from night one!

-       She prefers her dry food to her wet food which I find so odd.

-       She loves her Biscuit and she carries him all over the house.  I just know they’re going to be besties!

-       She is a natural at playing fetch.  The first time I played with her she knew exactly what to do.  The only thing she doesn’t do is drop the ball for me to pick up, and instead, she brings it back to me and waits for me to take it out of her mouth and throw it again.

-       She love chewing on these bones.  I think that’s so funny because Maui always thought they were boring.

-       She has never barked but she does whine for a couple of minutes when you put her in her room.

-       She likes small spaces – squeezing under furniture, hiding under pillows and blankets, and she likes to hide her face.  I think it makes her feel safe.

-       She loves to be held like a human baby and I looooveeee that so muuuuch.

-       She has the floppiest ears and paws that look way too big for her body.  And both of those characteristics make her look like the perfect cartoon dog… she looks like she’s straight out of a Disney movie!

-       She’s really cuddly but she’s also great at being independent and having quiet time alone.

-       She has never gone to the bathroom in her crate or her room.

 

This sweet baby has been prayed for every single day since Maui passed away and I truly believe that everything worked out exactly as it was supposed to for God to place her in our lives at the exact time that he knew we were ready for her and needed her.  I have had peace in my heart during this whole process and that’s how I know she’s the one!  I even started writing this story before she was ever technically ours because I just knew she would be.

She is already so loved and so spoiled and we are looking forward to lots of beautiful years with her.  (Exhausting ones, too, because she is giving us a run for our money with all her energy and curiosity!  Haha.)

Welcome to the family, Bellie!  We’re all so glad you’re here!