Our Puppy ~ Christmas 2009

We decided to get a puppy. We decided to adopt a puppy from a shelter. We discussed what kind we wanted, and decided on a lab or lab/mix. I love labs and that is what I have always owned and they are great with kids and we needed a dog that would not be timid or overwhelmed by our HistoryBoy.

We went to our local shelter we found the cutest puppy named Maddie, a little black lab mix, curled up in a little ball. She was perfect! A little hyper, but she was only approx. 8 months old, so what did we expect. She was loving, and a great guard dog, she has an AWESOME bark. No one got near me or HistoryBoy. Although I think she would have run if things got hairy, she was a little timid when someone reached for her!

Now, since she was only 8 months old, we expected her to get bigger. We took her to the vet for a check up and they suggested she might be greyhound and not just lab, she could get a bit bigger. (Uh oh) As you can see by the pic taken about a month after we got her, she isn't full grown but she can almost stretch from one side of my full bed to the other. Yeah, not so little dog. Still love her, but not so little.

It has been suggested to us that while our lovely Madison, looks like a Black Lab, in the face and coat, her build is definitely something else, and I quite agree. If you could see her run or jump, you might think she is part horse or jack rabbit, which definitively puts greyhound into the mix. It's funny even now when she is lying now she will tuck her legs under her sometimes ans she will look like that small puppy until she unfurls those legs and you realize I must own a mini-black horse or something.

In all honesty, she is a great dog, and a great choice of dog for HistoryBoy. She has the energy to run with him when his hyperactivity has taken hold and the size to keep him contained. But on that same note, when he is in school and I am in bed lying down she is content to lie by my bed, or sometimes on the bed by my feet. She is the perfect dog for our family. I wanted a companion for myself during the day when I was alone and for HistoryBoy to interact with. And we couldn't have gotten any better.