Time to formally introduce Bristol to the blog. I should’ve posted this on Tuesday for Subaru’s National #MakeADogsDay but alas…

This might be a longer post… but there are pictures so it’s worth it. Lol

The amount of doubt, second-guessing, and hemming & hawing that went into Bristol’s adoption is embarrassing. I think K felt *good* about her from the start. I loved her profile and I was the one to submit the adoption application, but I was nervous to meet her. And poor Enzo was completely blindsided.

Losing Lylee was the worst pain our little family has felt. It shook all three of us. I couldn’t fathom loving another dog like I loved her. To be completely transparent, I couldn’t imagine loving anything new. I questioned my worth as a mom-to-be because my heart just felt so broken and out of commission. It was extreme grief mixed with pregnancy hormones.

Lylee was K’s girl. She loved him SO much and in return she was his number one. When we were calculating her potential recovery cost (we were told it could be 5 figures), he was prepared to sell his corvette if we needed to. Just writing that makes me cry. When we bought that car we said we’d never sell it, but Kyle loved Lylee so much he didn’t think twice.

As the days without Ly passed we realize how quiet and incomplete and sad our home and family and lives felt. We lasted as a one-dog family for a week.

We don’t do anything on a whim. We over-talk about it. I overthink about it. I pray about it. K researches it. But once we make a decision, we don’t back down. And we knew in our hearts we needed to be a two dog family.

I decided to browse the website of the rescue where we got Enzo nearly 6 years ago. An 8 month old dog named “Butter” grabbed my attention & I sent her profile to Kyle.

We filled out an application, I spoke with her foster mom, and we made plans to meet. Enzo, K and I loaded up the car and drove an hour north with zero expectations or plans on what to do. Just needed to meet her.

It was a weird meet-and-greet. When “Butter” was unleashed in the enclosure she bounded over to K and I,  flopped on her back, and charmed us. Enzo showed zero interest in her and went to sniff the enclosure. This was weird because Enzo acts like a lunatic when he sees a dog- all he wants to do is play. When dogs on the outside of the fence walked past he reacted, but with “Butter” he simply acknowledged she was there and did his own thing. This worried us.

After a few minutes she started working on indifferent Enzo. She followed him, occasionally mouthed at his ears, and tried to feint at him. She never annoyed him or abused him or pushed him… she just made it known that she wanted to play when he was ready. After about 45 minutes of this, her patient persistence paid off and he engaged. (Enzo hadn’t played since Ly got sick.)

We had options at this point… We could pay the adoption fee and take her home (with a 2 week trial period where you can get your $ back if things don’t work out), we could walk away and say no, or we could leave without her and think on it for 24 hours.

On the drive up we agreed that all three of us needed to be sold. K and I were 90-99% on board after an hour and I think Enzo was roughly 60%… so we decided to give another homeless dog a home and adopt “Butter.”

On the way home we discussed 5 different names and settled on Bristol- which is the NASCAR race track we love & visit every year. Enzo has a car-related name (after Ferrari) & we love the little theme we have going.

We have had Bristol for nearly 3 weeks. She is an 8 month old Pomsky (Pomeranian-husky mix… don’t ask me about the reproductive science there… I don’t know). She is definitely still a puppy (ornery, slightly mouthy because she’s teething) but she is sweet as pie and a true testament to the love a shelter pet has to give.

We started obedience school last night and she hasn’t had an accident inside since week one. She’s a smart little cookie but dopey like a puppy, and she will put anything in her mouth just to see if she likes it (dirt, rocks, a mouse nest from under the porch… sigh). She’s a gem, though. We struck gold with her and she has gotten more comfortable in our house each day.

My dad keeps asking if she had siblings at the rescue because he loves her and wants her. Haha.

Before she came to us, she was fostered for a week through the rescue. Before that, they pulled her from the pound. The pound said she was an owner surrender… It breaks my heart that after 6 or 7 months someone gave up on her and dumped her at a pound. My guess? They wanted a purse-size husky and got a 35 lbs ball of energy. Jokes on them- now we’ve got the perfect baby.

Enzo is doing pretty good with Bristol. I think he’s looking forward to her growing up a bit. She likes to randomly nip his neck and legs, and Enzo is not a rough-housing dog… But he plays with her and chases with her and keeps an eye on her when they’re lounging around. He’s still wary, but he knows she’s here for good and he’s warming up each day.

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And that’s the adoption story. Did we adopt a puppy with less than 8 weeks until my due date? Yep. And while a small part of me thought we’d regret it, I was 100% wrong. Adopting her and adding her at this moment was the right decision- even if it seems nuts.

Here’s my adoption pitch… If you’re looking to add a fur baby to your family, start with your local shelters, pounds, and rescues. And then branch out to not-so-local facilities. I can guarantee you will find the breed/temperament/age you want in a rescue. Bristol looks a lot like Lylee (which was honestly one of my hang ups) but that’s because we are comfortable with the husky breed- and we found one in a shelter at the perfect age within an hour drive of our house. Yes, there was an application process and we had to do a meet and greet, but it’s the rescue’s way of placing dogs in perfect homes. Do the leg work for a rescue dog- they’re worth it.

And that’s Bristol. When you see her on IG or in future posts, you know the story. And with a 6 year old dog, 9 month old dog, and newborn baby, there are likely to be lots of additional posts and stories with her as a key player. Lol