That had to be one of the coldest puppy delivery days ever! It was about 27 when I left home yesterday morning with Ann and Andy.

I woke them up around 6:00 for an early breakfast hoping it had time to settle in their tummies before hitting the winding road that heads from home to Spokane. We got to leave a little later than most puppy delivery days since one person’s flight didn’t arrive until almost 10:00 so we met around 11:00.

And thankfully since both families were repeat adopters coming back for their second Pinewood pup (we are so grateful!) we cut the puppy talk short since they knew the routine and have done this before. It was reading about 34 at the Spokane airport but the wind was whipping as usual which made it a bone-chilling and biting cold morning!

Most of our pups going home in the winter get sent home with sweaters (if I can find enough sweaters small enough). Ann and Andy had theirs on to help keep them warm for short potty breaks in the back of the truck.

Ann with her new family. She’ll be going home to meet her new big brother Louis (formerly Donovan)

Andy with his new mom. He’ll be going home to meet his new dog sister Molly (formerly Dolly) and a very excited human brother (with three sisters) who so wanted another boy in the family! <3

It was also the day that Smudgie went home to her new life of leisure and couch potato status.

I actually debated sharing this part of the day. Why? Well, because I shared something similar on my Instagram the other day about Hazel retiring and got called some pretty nasty stuff. Because I let my dogs retire with someone to a life of love, leisure and one-on-on attention I got called names.

The keyboard warriors don’t know me or my dogs at all. They don’t know the time, money, attention, care or love that goes into the dogs lives. Nor do they know how gut-wrenching it is for me to let them go. I hate this part.

As I’ve mentioned before, if I’m going to continue raising these adorable puppies for future adoptive families, I have to raise more dogs to be future parents. 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)

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.

Some breeders utilize guardian homes. This is where they place a puppy that they hope to be a future adult used for their breeding program, into a family. They basically co-own the dog with the family. When the dog matures they breed it for a certain amount of litters, then the dog is spayed or neutered and stays with the family it grew up with. But these breeders live in cities or near populated areas and make the clause that these families must live within say thirty miles of the breeder. It’s a great idea. But for those of us who live in the boondocks, it’s not a workable idea. Every potential guardian family I have had reach out lives 100+ miles from me.

I do have one dog in a guardian home. That’ sweet Sally who lives next door with my SIL. But she’s the only person that has ever lived close enough to have one of my dogs as a guardian dog.

So I loved on Smudgie at the airport while her new mom checked in. Smudgie’s new parents are the “grandparents” to a Pinewood Cavapoo and live just down the street from their daughter and her dog, Leelee. So Smudgie will get to go for walks with another Pinewood dog. I love when my retirees go to someone that already has one of our dogs or there’s a connection like this one.

As you can see from the updated picture, Smudige is already enjoying “couch potato” life! <3

And one more thing, I just have to share. My kids are so silly. We had some of our kids home the weekend before Thanksgiving, one home for Thanksgiving and then the other two home this past weekend (work schedules, you know). They came in Friday afternoon and left a couple hours after I did on Sunday morning. And I totally forgot to get a family picture of everyone! So I asked their dad to get a picture with the kids before they left.

This is what they sent me! Bhahahahahahaha…..they photoshopped me in! LOL!