For our one year anniversary, my husband and I decided to skip the traditional "paper" gifts and go straight to the furry friend. We searched ad after ad trying to find a Labradoodle for a moderately good price (not that we could put a price on our Marley, but we did not want to break the bank either.) One day, Eric called me while I was at work to tell me that there were Labradoodle puppies for sale near Erie, PA, which was much closer than we thought we were going to have to travel to get one. I called the number and there was only one female left, so naturally I was convinced that it was fate. I told the woman not to give her to anyone else, because we absolutely wanted her. I surprised myself by doing something that I never would have done under normal circumstances and put a down payment on the puppy sight unseen. Yes, I know, it sounds crazy, but it was fate remember?
We arrived in Erie on Saturday, May 21 and fell in love with our girl right away. She came running up to me when we first arrived and literally jumped into my lap as if to say "I'm ready, take me home." After chatting with the breeder for a little while we were set to head for home. She was such a good girl the entire two hour ride back to our house. She slept most of the way by cuddling up next to me. We at first gave her the name Bailey, but as she quickly showed her mischievous side, we had to change it to Marley. Plus, she has the most adorable black beard that resembled the famous locks of Bob Marley, so her name was changed to match both her appearance and personality.
For the first two weeks we tried to crate her at night, but after the 14th day I decided I needed some sleep and allowed her to lay in bed with us for "just one night." She now nestles in between us every night with her head between our pillows and her paws in Eric's back. I am pretty sure that one of these days she will succeed at kicking him off the bed - she's expected to grow to more than 75 lbs, so really, it's only a matter of time.
We've had our good and bad days, but she's very smart and curious. She has a thing for rocks, which drives me crazy because I'm afraid she might swallow one. She literally taunts me by sticking the edge of the rock out of her mouth and then sucks it back in as if to say "nah, nah, nah, nah, nah you can't get me." My neighbor thinks it's a riot. I am not so easily amused.
She also LOVES my shoes, the more comfortable the better. My black ballet flats that just recently got so that they were perfectly molded to my feet - shredded. My brown flip flops, then my white flip flops - ripped apart and even partly digested. My black heels that I wear to EVERY wedding have teeth marks all over them, now thrown away. No matter how well they are hidden, secured and blocked off, my little Marley finds a way to get her paws on them. She waits patiently until just the right moment to sink her teeth into them - as soon as I fall asleep on the couch, hop in the shower or get on my phone - that's when she strikes. She's one smart puppy alright, but she's my puppy and I love her nonetheless.
This past weekend, Eric and I went to a friend's house to practice for Beer Olympics, an annual event going on its 5th year. We were gone from 7-11 p.m., which was just enough time for Marley to sleep cozily in her crate until we got home, then she was ready to party. We took her to bed, but at 12:30 a.m. she barked to go outside. Not because she had to go to the bathroom, rather to do laps. At 1:30 a.m. she decided she needed to do more laps around the yard. At 2:30 a.m. she wanted me to play catch with her, barking at me until I played along. 3:30, 4:30, 5:30 a.m. this went on. She wanted to play and couldn't understand why I wanted to sleep. Finally at 7:30 a.m. she had tired herself out, just in time for when I had to get up and start my day. Marley's certainly training me for when Eric and I decide to have kids. And even though I was quite angry with her most of Saturday, she more than made up for it on Sunday. She stuck by my side as I cleaned and cuddled with me when I had finished. It's days like that, that I am reminded just how lucky I am that fate brought us together.
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