PART ONE: FINDING BRODY

Brody

If you have been following this blog at all lately (or read THIS post) you know that I've had PUPPY FEVER for awhile now!

It didn't help matters when my dear daughter got her wonderful standard poodle puppy, Jack.  It just sent me into puppy fever overdrive!

Compounded by the dang fractured foot (see posts HERE and HERE), which meant a LOT of time feeling sorry for myself and sitting on my butt cruising the internet... where I discovered all sorts of neat things.  A forum for poodle lovers... a forum for Yorkie lovers... and oh, breeders, breeders everywhere.   Now if you read THIS POST awhile ago, you know that I'm not a total newbie to Breeder-World, although my past experiences have only been with cats.

Well, I learned right away, it's similar in the doggie world.  And frankly, again, it is shark-infested waters!  There are backyard breeders, puppy mills, and puppy brokers everywhere.  And believe me when I tell you that there are FAR MORE bad (or mediocre) breeders out there than excellent ones.   GOOD breeding is VERY hard work, with very little financial pay-off.  Sadly, most people are far more interested in making money at the animals' expense than working selflessly to BETTER their breed.  But don't get me started!

So... first I (finally!) chose my breed -- deciding on a Yorkie.  Like poodles, they don't shed and they don't (typically) have that doggie odor.  Also like poodles, you can "fussy-groom" them OR just keep them clipped short (which is what I plan to do.)  Yorkies simply don't need the "space" that standard poodles need; and their size makes them easier to take places and travel with.  Plus they simply *can't* counter-surf, LOL!  Yorkies are smart, sassy, sweet, loving little dogs who don't seem to know they are small!

Next I narrowed down my search to several breeders who met my exceedingly high expectations and standards.  Most excellent breeders have waiting lists, so it's not uncommon to have to wait for one of their pups.  But I got lucky when Deb Sillers of Amazing Yorkies (in Fairfax, MO) had just what I was looking for *when* I was looking.  (My criteria: a healthy, well-bred, well socialized pup, no preference of gender, not a "teeny-tiny", affectionate, confident, laid back; not nervous or high-strung.)  Deb said that she had a pup that met all my criteria (in fact, she was saving him for the show ring)... but she must have liked me (LOL!) because she offered him to me.  I was ECSTATIC!

Deb has been amazing -- so friendly, helpful and knowledgable.  It has been a pleasure to get to know her.  We have been in touch OFTEN (I hope I haven't been a PEST... gulp!)  She has sent me photos, a video, frequent reports and updates.  No question went unanswered.

My husband and I have named him Brody and he is almost 5 months old.  Deb has had him vet-checked, neutered, micro-chipped, and all vaccinations.   He's ready for us, and we are ready for him; he comes home on Tuesday!   *Happy dance!*    STAY TUNED FOR PART 2!!!

Brody 

WELCOME HOME, BENTLEY!

Yes, yes, I've been holding out on you guys - please forgive me! ;o)

My "Las Vegas" and "Hoover Dam" posts and pictures will just have to wait... there's some BIG NEWS here!

It is with much happiness and delight that I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, little Bentley Edmund Spencer:

Bentley (aka "Squeak"!) is a 13 week old blue mitted lynx Ragdoll kitten. A southern-born little gentleman, he comes to us all the way from Raleigh, NC.

OK, so here's the whole story!

It has been said that Ragdolls are like potato chips, you can hardly have just one. Well, we have been thinking/talking about getting a new little brother or sister (although I am a total sucker for little boys!) for Boo for quite awhile... and the time finally seemed just right to start looking in earnest. Although health and personality will always be our primary considerations, of course, I had taken quite a fancy to the Ragdoll color/pattern called blue lynx mitted. (Boo is a seal bi-color. For a look at all the various colors/patterns available, please look here... and here!) So, with the decision finally made to add a new kitty to our family, I made it my mission to try to find a blue lynx mitted kitten from a very responsible, very reputable breeder. (A good article on that subject is here.)

My inquiries and research finally led me to Gail Stone of Megailee Ragdolls. From e-mails and phone calls, I liked Gail immediately, and felt very comfortable that she was just who I had been looking for. AND, she had a new litter of 5, and in it were... two little blue lynx mitted boys! AND we had made plans to visit dear friends of ours in North Carolina (of all places!), right about the time the babies would be ready to go (age 12 weeks). It all seemed too good to be true.

Gail provided me with updates and pictures of Bentley through the weeks. (The waiting was TORTURE, by the way; in fact it darn near killed me! haha! ALL that got me through were those updates and pictures from Gail, plus sharing my adventure and excitement with my buddies at Ragdoll Central!)

Here are a few of the pictures Gail sent.

1 week old newborns with their sweet mama (Ragdolls are born all white, and their color[s] develop slowly over a 3-4 year time span; yes, that's YEARS!):

Bentley at age 3.5 weeks old:


At age 5 weeks:

Age 6 weeks:


Age 7 weeks:


Age 9 weeks (and getting cuter by the MINUTE!)


Age 11 weeks:

Here are two photos taken with his adorable "twin brother", the other blue lynx mitted boy. Bentley is the one on the right in each picture:




This is his VERY handsome daddy, Maxwell. (Also a blue lynx mitted; so Bentley should look a lot like this when he is all grown up!)


This is his very beautiful mama, Ceraphina:

Our plans were to swing by Raleigh on our way home from our friends' house, meet Gail, and bring Baby home. It would be a 10-hour drive, and I'm not gonna lie to you, I was a little worried about that! Can you imagine what that would be like with a crying, carsick, upset little kitty? Well, he was neither crying, NOR carsick, NOR upset, and those 10 hours in the car were some of the best 10 hours of my life! He was such a little angel! Really! We started the trip with him in his carrier, but within minutes, he started to cry, this small, pitiful little squeak of a meow, so I took him out and held him. And thus began 10 hours of Heaven! He curled right up in my lap, started to purr, and never moved off my lap for 10 long hours! What a cuddle-bug! He streeeeeetched, he flopped, he looked out the window, he napped, he snugggled some more. It was simply wonderful!

Here's a picture from the car trip, me and my beautiful new baby!


So now we are home and settling in... and this baby is simply amazing. I told Gail it's like he has been sprinkled with pixie dust! He's HILARIOUS, so silly, so playful and SO active (think perpetual motion!), but yet he's also a little lap snuggler and a major purr-box! Boo isn't quite sure WHAT to think, yet, but I have a feeling they will soon be BESTEST BUDDIES!

Here are some pictures of Bentley taken yesterday and today:










And just because they are too cute not to share, here's a few "LOL cat" pictures that my darling niece made from two of Bentley's baby pictures!




And because no post made by me on Ragdolls would be complete without a few recent pictures of Bentley's wonderful big brother, Boo:

And me? I'm the happiest girl on the planet to share my heart and home with these two amazing, wonderful animals!

*happy sigh!*

UPDATE: March 4, 2010

Boo and Bentley are doing GREAT! I couldn't be more pleased!
Here, see for yourself! :o)