Bochy
Meet our dog.
We joke that Bochy is our rebound puppy. Our act of rebellion. Our impulse buy. But mostly the answer to our craving for an adventure.
Evan has wanted a dog his whole life, however I reserved the right to choose when we got one and what kind of dog we got. I'm a sucker for making my hubby's dreams come true and this dream just seemed to fit right here, right now. It felt so good to do something dramatic. Ask me in a few weeks if it still does!
When we went to look at puppies the first time I still wasn't ready to pull the trigger, but I fell in love with this snugly one in particular and I just couldn't say no. He's a Vizsla, which I picked for the following reasons: Clean (read- minimal shedding), medium sized (not a horse, but not a dog you can "punt over the fence" as my brothers say), smart (code for I plan on him being well-trained), great with kids, and could run a marathon with me. Checks all my boxes! We named him Bochy after the San Francisco Giants baseball manager. Honestly, I've never been an animal person at all, but this sweet puppy has been just what the doctor ordered. My children obsess over him, play with him for hours. Evan and I are reading this dog training book together and he's now implementing the principles in his parenting as well, which is hysterical to watch, yet impressive all at once.
Bochy does keep me busy. And after two weeks, I'm under no illusion that the training will be getting significantly easier any time soon. But it's pretty exhilarating when gets something right. And when he cuddles. Everyone warned me it would be just like having a baby. And I get what they're trying to say, make sure you know what you're getting yourself into...except... I didn't have to grow him or birth him or nurse him or worry about his ability to contribute to God and country so.... really it's a lot easier than that! With two toddlers, we live for walks and park trips and nap times around here, a schedule that fits pretty seamlessly for our pup. And I mean... you have to admit he's really cute.
****UPDATE*****
On our third visit to the vet, we found that Bochy has a severe heart murmur. Upon the breeders recommendation we got a second opinion and sure enough he needed an echocardiogram to make a diagnosis. It turns out that Bochy has an extremely rare heart disease, he is unable to exercise at all (no walks, playing fetch, running, etc.) and needs to be on heart medication to slow down his heart rate. They told us he would possibly require an expensive surgery and would probably only live 1-3 years. We were shocked, frustrated, and heartbroken all at once. I spent several days crying and trying to figure out what to do. Financially, we just couldn't support this very sick puppy who was going to need expensive care as well as not be able to tag along on all our family adventures. Telling the kids not to play with or let the puppy run around was just not realistic. Through a little miracle, our backdoor neighbors decided to adopt Bochy. They have two other dogs and a lifestyle that will be much more conducive to his needs, plus our kids will still get to see him when they come outside to play since we share a fence-less property line. We are so sad to lose our puppy, its crazy how quickly you get attached! But we are incredibly grateful to our neighbors and sure learned some important lessons through the whole experience.
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