Missy's Frist Birthday!

Missy Moo turned 1 year old today. I can't believe we've had her for 9 months now. I feel like it was just yesterday that we went to go pick her up. It's a day I'm sure I'll never forget.

We sort of fell into getting Missy. I was browsing around on http://www.waysidewaifs.org one day at work and stumbled upon a litter of little Lab puppies. As per usual procedure, I found the cutest one and emailed it to Zach. Usually when I'd do this he'd reply with a short "yeah, yeah, that's nice." However, this time he was interested! A flurry of emails followed and a couple of phone calls later we decied to go check the puppies out that night. It was a Thursday and we were planning to leave for Sioux Falls the next day for Alicia's graduation and bridal shower.

We got to Wayside Waifs and headed back to the kennels. I volunteered at Wayside a couple times. I think it's the best shelter in the area. The animals are treated so well and loved on so much, but it still absolutely breaks my heart to see their little faces behind bars. To get to the puppies, you have to walk past all the big dogs (which are mostly labs). I was fighting back the tears already. We found the lab puppies and only two were there. We stuck our hands through the grate and ooohd and ahhd for a bit. While we were there a lady came over and started cuddling on one of the puppies. So, we asked her about them. Turned out that she was the foster mom! She said the puppies were born in foster care as the mom was found pregnant and abandoned. The two puppies we saw had a strange condition on their legs. One or both of their front legs were really swollen. The lady said the mom had the same condition as well as a few other puppies. They had run a battery of tests and never did figure out what it was. The mom's went away after birth. Some of the puppies had it, some didn't. We asked about the puppies and she said they were both adopted. My heart sank. Then she remembered that one was still filming a movie (I've told this part before so I wont' go into detail). She told us she didn't have the leg condition and was a bit smaller than the two we were seeing. She suggested we ask the front desk if "Misty" is still available.

We went up to the front desk and talked to a really nice lady. She told us that the actors and crew get first pick of the puppies, but so far nobody had chosen Misty. Our names would be first on the waiting list. We left feeling really excited but not optimistic. A few days later, while in South Dakota I got the call and Misty was ours! We got to spread the news to Zach's family first, which was neat because usually they hear everything over the phone. It was fun to tell exciting news in person. We started thinking of names and the only thing we could come up with was "Missy" (creative!!) but decided to wait until we met her for the official naming. We might change our minds after all!

So a few days later we went to go pick up our puppy. They ushered us into the adoption room. There was a little blackboard that said "I'm going home today!" and listed all the animals being adopted that day. Misty was first on the list! It suddenly became very real. We started filling out the paperwork. We were getting her microchipped and therefore we got a free name tag and the girl asked us what her name was. The moment of truth was here and we hadn't even met her!! "ummm... Missy I guess". A few minutes later another girl came through the door with a little yellow ball of fur. My excitement immediately turned to pure terror. I started internally freaking out and thinking "No! Oh my God! Take her back! I can't do it!!!! NOOOOO!!!!" Then she put her in my lap and Missy did exactly what she does best...Licked the crap out of my face. I remember saying "oohhh look at you little Missy!" and then immediately saying "Ohhhh look at that, I'd call you Missy anyway!"

We finished writing a bunch of checks and signing a bunch of forms. I'm sure they could have asked me for ten grand and I would have just smiled and said "Ok!" at this point. They took her away again to get her microchip put in and we waited in the hall. I choked up a bit when I saw an older lady leave with an older dog she had just adopted. It made my heart sing, she was so happy. Then they brought back out a much more mellow Missy. She apparently didn't appreciate the microchipping. I sat in the backseat while Zach drove. Missy fell asleep next to me with her head in my lap. I. Was. In. Love.

Best day ever.

GrandmaGrandpa came over not even an hour after we got home because they just had to meet their first grandpuppy right away! George didn't meet her until a few hours later. It's been chaos ever since. But, we love every second.

Tonight Zach and I celebrated at 54th Street and then came home, sang "Happy Birthday" and Missy got a big ol' rawhide and has been in heaven since.

Happy 1st Birthday My MeesMoo! I love you!!!



Here's a video of "The Crazy Banana"