If you’re following me over on Instagram then I’m sure you’ve seen that we brought home a new addition to our little family (I also shared the news first with my newsletter clients so sign up for early updates!) Her name is Quinn and we brought her home a month ago and our hearts couldn’t be more full. She’s a ball of energy that we lovingly describe as eighty percent demon, twenty percent angel.

Losing Bella last year was one of the hardest times in my life but I knew I would get another dog – as a self-proclaimed-crazy fur-mama, having a dog enriches my life and makes me truly happy. When we started the process I was torn between adopting a boxer or working with a breeder. I stalked the Ontario Boxer Rescue website weekly to see if there were any dogs that would fit in our family and both Robin and I were researching breeders all over Canada. When it came down to it, we both felt the most comfortable with a breeder who’s mission is to better the breed. Not knowing the dog’s background made me feel so anxious after what we went through with Bella so if we could do everything in our power to put our minds at ease then we were going to. We contacted Kari at Kaco Boxers and from the first phone call I knew she was perfect for us. She was so passionate and educated about boxers and she treats all her dogs like pets – I’m talking constant cuddles and dogs on the couch type place. She interviewed us just as much as we interviewed her (I kept joking that it felt like we were adopting a baby and had to convince her that we were good parents) but it was something I really appreciated since she makes sure all her dogs go to good homes.

So we put our names down for a girl on the next litter which would be born in January and then began the waiting game. When delivery day came we found out the mama (Gracie) had six males and one female so unfortunately we wouldn’t be getting a pup from her. There was another mama (Bailey) who was also pregnant and due the following week so we were hopeful that she would have enough girls but she ended up having three and one male so we thought our chances were pretty low considering there would be people ahead of us on the list. I remember on the night we found out we were getting a pup, Robin and I had just sat down to watch a movie and my phone lit up with a new email. I could tell it was from Kari and I glanced at the first sentence “so I have some good news!” I jumped at my phone and read the email to Robin and we both started jumping up and down and then popped open some champagne! (Again, this makes me laugh cause it was like we had just been matched with our adopted baby). For the next two months Kari would share photos and a live video each week to show how the puppies were doing. We went back and forth on different names but were both in love with ‘Quinn’ and when we met her it fit her perfectly.

We tried to prepare ourselves as much as possible for the new puppy but it’s easy to forget how much work is involved. Each day has been a test to our patience, our sleep and our priorities but it’s also been so much fun! Seeing her sweet face each morning instantly makes me happy and every mannerism she has is cuter than the last. She’s only been home with us for a month and already she has grown and changed so much. Currently, her favourite things are sleeping, snuggling, treats, rummaging through her toy basket and playing with each toy for about a minute, chasing leaves, and meeting new people.

In true crazy-fur-mama fashion I will continue to post updates and if you want to follow along I created an Instagram account for her @qtheboxer (cause I’m super cool like that!)