the story of how Madison found us

We had just had our Treeing Walker, Booker, put to sleep because of dangerous rage and attack issues, and were heartbroken. All of our dog-blogging friends made us feel so much better, and kept us remembering that we really LOVE dogs and that we LOVE having a dog to love.

On Sunday morning, very early, we were talking "DOGS." What kind we would have and remembering all the dogs, both the wonderful ones and the difficult ones and the ones we cried about losing, and Man-Dad made some suggestions, and H-Mom googled Giant Schnauzers. And Standard Poodles. H-Mom is like the CIA. She finds everything on the Web really fast. Just mention it, and ... BAM ... there it is.

Well, on Sunday, the Web site for El Lobo Giant Schnauzers was top on the Google list, and she trolled around the site and looked at the gorgeous dogs, and found out that the breeder lived just 20 minutes from us. The owner, Cynthia, invited us to visit, meet some of her adult dogs, and see the two 4-month old puppies that she still had from the last litter. When H-Mom told her that we live in a condo, she LAUGHED. But then she talked with us some more, on the phone, and she said, Well, if you are really dog people, why don't you come and meet the dogs and we can talk.

So Mom and Dad drove out to Davie. They found the breeder very easily. There was a giant schnauzer on the mailbox, and a REAL giant schnauzer waiting by the big gate to the front yard. That was the MOM dog, Ariel. She was very quiet and didn't even bark, just watched and then said hello with a wet nose when Cynthia came out of the front door and opened the gate.

We met the little male pup first. He was smashing. We could take him home, we knew in an instant. Then Cynthia brought "yellow girl" out to meet us. The wiggly, tail-wagging bundle of black fluff clambered into David's lap, put one giant bear-size paw on each of his shoulders and smothered him in doggy kisses.

"If you come home with us, Daddy will buy you all the toys you want," he said. She looked over the top of her head at me, winked, and the deal was sealed.

We left to "talk about it" and then went back a few hours with the teen-human to get her okay too. "Yellow Girl" seemed to know that the teen-human had just had a really terrible experience with Booker and his aggressive rage. The little puppy just wiggled everywhere and very gently climbed into the teen-human's lap and started licking all over her face. In the car on the way home, the teen-human sent a text to H-Mom:

Let's get her.

She was ours the next morning, sitting on the front seat of the car in a furry little black bundle.