happy sadness

It's funny how so often sad things produce joy in our lives. We experienced this on a very small scale this past weekend. Carly and I intended to keep one of Parker's illegitimate little puppies; the last female in the bunch. What a cutie she was! Shortly before we headed out to visit my parents in Colorado Springs this last weekend, Cynthia Geiger and I went next door to check on the puppies. They didn't look so good. Not sure what was up. The next day I made an appointment with our vet to make sure we got her checked out before things took a turn for the worse. Well, they did just that. She died while we were in Colorado, and before we could get her into the vet. One bit of good news is that our neighbor was able to find good homes for all of the other 6 puppies.

Since Carly and I had been trying hard to figure out if we wanted and could afford another dog, it was sad to have come to an excited "YES" and then to be disappointed. So on a whim we did a little internet research for puppies in our area (through the Wichita Eagle classifieds), and we found a family in Cunningham, KS selling their purebred golden retriever puppies for a GREAT price. So on Monday we went and checked them out. When I say "checked them out" I mean we had our checkbook and pen in pocket, and a blanket for her in the car! We drove the 65 miles in the blowing cold and came home a little warmer with a cute little 8-week old furball!

Meet Aspen, a female Golden Retriever, and newest member of the Walters' family. I wish I had better pictures than this, but you'll have to bear with us. Most of these are Parker and Aspen "getting to know each other." They do great together! Parker is so gentle with her, and surprisingly protective of her (but that's another story).