I cried when I left my driveway and hit the main road (as I now had two plus hours to think about what would happen later that morning). I cried when I told them good-bye. And I cried when they all drove out of the parking lot.

What is she talking about you might wonder?

Let me regress a bit.

On Puppy Delivery Day I get asked regularly how could I let these puppies go? And I do get attached to them. After planning the “wedding” of their parents months in advance, watching over mom as she fills out, hand delivering each little new life and then caring for them for eight to nine weeks; watching them grow, develop, learn and play you’d think saying good-bye would be difficult.

But honestly, that’s one of my favorite parts of this life. That day is fun for me! I get to hand over these bundles of fluff to their excited families who might have been waiting a year or more or at least several months in anticipation. The smiles on their faces are priceless. And sometimes their are even tears of joy. (People don’t do that to me or my eyes will leak too.) 😉

The toughest part of this “job” is placing an adult into a new home.

Some may think it horrible that I place my adult dogs when they retire.

Let me try to explain, if I’m going to continue raising these adorable puppies for potential adopters, I have to raise more adults to be future parents. Obviously, we want our parents to have a nice life and “retire” at a nice age. So we raise some purebred Poodles and Cavaliers occasionally to step in when those current ones are ready to retire. So there are always more dogs around then just the current parents. All those dogs require attention, grooming, love, medical care, and space. And I only have so much of each. My house is small, so I can only fit so many in here with me at one time. If I could reasonably have all the dogs in the house with me I would! (Of course, my husband would probably move out and the kids would never visit! :P) But it’s just not possible when you have more than a few.

So I would much rather have an adult that is no longer being a parent, be spayed and retired into a home where he or she is the center of attention; a place where they will be doted on and spoiled. Where they can sleep on the couch, be part of the family activities and given all the attention they want. And I screen and place the dog into what I think sounds like the best home for that particular dog.

And that brings me back to the tears.

On June 29th several of our adults dogs went to their forever retirement homes. And I had to say good-bye knowing I would probably not see them again. Knowing they would be confused by the day and what was going on, but deep down knowing I was doing what was best for them.

Most of my retirees have gone to homes that have another Pinewood dog whether it be a puppy they got from us and raised or another retired adult. That makes things a bit easier. These people have become like family to me and I know the dogs will get the best care, lots of love and the cushy life they deserve.  But it’s still hard.

I have since heard from all the families and the “kids” are settling in to their new plush retirement.

I can’t tell you how much I love this picture! <3 (L to R) Jules (Rosie’s mom <3) Hope the first (yes there was another Hope before our Aunt Hope) and Rosie. I’d say that’s the life!

(I always liked this picture of him in our garden).

I haven’t gotten a picture of Noah in his new home yet, but his mom gave me a long update and ended with “He is such a sweet, happy boy!” Noah has a brother named Abe who is a Cavapoo from us.

Treasure made herself at home right away in her new “brother’s” bed. Her mom described her as a snuggler and a “little monkey”! Mom left the room for a second and “turned around to find her dancing on my bed (it’s quite high)” hehehe

And a fun fact, Treasure’s new brother is Huxley who is a litter mate to Abe (Noah’s new pal). And Treasure is Noah’s daughter.

And little Miss Cayenne went to a wonderful new home where she has a big brother (a son of Reba). So it’ll be a Poodle party at that house.

And lastly, Mercy will be leaving us tomorrow for her new home. Her new family is so excited to meet her! So it will be another farewell.

But all is well. These guys all got amazing retirement homes with wonderful people and that makes things so much better. <3