Goldendoodle Draft

Two weekends ago, we made the trek to Oklahoma to compete in the draft for our goldendoodle!  As you can imagine, the anticipation for the day had been building up for weeks.  Earlier that week, Jeff slipped a dog toy into my schoolbag with the guise that "Milton" stuck it in.  Likewise, I have been amusing Jeffery with my "dog impressions" about the house.  Hence, we were both positively giddy upon rising that morning. 

I decided that Jeff and I should give a bandanna with our scent to the goldendoodle, so he could remember us during the two week separation period before we officially took him home.  See this was just a picking visit not a taking one.  So, Jeff promptly wore the bandanna around his neck, slathered it with both of our deodorants, and proceeded to stuff it down his shirt for the entire two hour car drive to OK.  Obviously, we felt terribly
awkward dragging the smelly thing in there and left it in the car.  It is best not to weird the little guy out too early on.

Let's back up here and explain how the draft works.  Each family-to-be gives a down payment to the breeder when they decide to buy a pup.  Depending on when you pay, is the order that you pick your puppy.  For us, we were the third to pay our fee, so we stood a good shot of getting our first choice puppy out of the six litter mates.  Even if you were the last viable pick of the dogs, you were still guaranteed a precious doodle. It is just so easy to get carried away with the sense of "love at first sight" that you start to think a certain puppy is destined for you.  Luckily we were not an eleventh or twelfth pick due to the number of pups that sadly died.  These folks were reallocated to other litters. 

Overall, Jeff, his mother (Momeaux), and I spent a grand total of two and a half hours deliberating over puppies.  Each one was an adorable fur ball, so it was certainly a difficult choice.  We went in with initial thoughts from the online photos, but these did not compare at all to seeing them live.  As much as I boasted to my mom about their uniqueness, they all looked strangely similar.

I immediately sought out the biggest dog, Colton, but he had already been chosen.  Barnett, the next milk gobbler, was very uninterested in being held by either of us.  We endlessly picked up puppy after puppy seeing if they struggled, rested their head, or let us touch their paws and ears. 

Ultimately, we decided on Drake as our first pick and Evan as our second.  These pups were docile yet feisty and enjoyed cuddling.  Both goldendoodles were on the small side, but they will certainly grow.  The way I figure it is if they are small now, maybe they will eat less and save us some cash!  We found out later that week that we got... Drake - the darling puppy in the picture at right!

Of course the road trip ended on the high note of Dairy Queen just like every other one we seem to take!  DQ needs to infiltrate the North.