Welcome Harvey!

So I have been waiting 2 weeks to share some really exciting news! Josh and I adopted a puppy! He is a black lab mix named, Harvey, and he has already completely won us over.

Right after his first bath at home

I don’t know if any of you have ever adopted a pet from the shelter before (and it had been a few years since my family adopted our family dog) but I had no idea how in depth the process was. Each shelter we looked at had an application that needed to be filled out which is pretty standard, while some of the shelters included background checks, requested references, and grilled you about your knowledge of canine diseases. Then some would do home visits, and visits with the actual dog, before making their decisions.

It was quite the experience looking for a furry family member, and to be honest, it felt like the process would take forever. If we found a puppy we liked, I was convinced it would be over a year old by the time the process was completed.

And then we stumbled upon the shelter we ended up adopting from. The owner of the shelter was awesome! She reviewed our application and approved us within 2 days. And she kept up with our emails and answered all of our questions. She even sent pictures and videos of the dogs we were looking at. (Which was especially helpful since her shelter was located in Tennessee).

He's already at home on the couch, munching on toys

Which is where we saw our boy Harvey. He was in one of the videos climbing on his siblings and the picture online was just too cute. Before we knew it, Josh and I were signing the contract and scheduling the pick-up of our pup. (The shelter works with a puppy transport that makes bi-monthly trips up to the Mid-West).

Then came the waiting game. Like I said, they only do transports bi-monthly. Josh and I spent plenty our waiting in and out of pet stores picking out toys, food, and dishes. And finally this past Saturday arrived and we were able to get Harvey.

He was tired from the journey but took to us really quickly and has already made himself at home. Harvey is such a sweet little guy and we are so happy to have his as a part of our family.

Loving his new bed and window view

If you are looking to add some fur to your family, I highly recommend adopting from a shelter. Josh and I went through Mercer Animal Rescue, but there are SO many other wonderful shelters who are taking care of pups who would make excellent additions to any family.

**Also, I wanted to add a disclaimer. Now that we have a puppy, you can expect to see more puppy related posts and adorable candid pics of our little guy.