magdalena

We got a puppy.

MacKenzie, our blue heeler mutt mix, loves our girls. Indeed, she’s a central reason why Monica can fall asleep at night. She cuddles up at the end of her bed and dozes off for an hour our two before we crack the door open and let her out for one last piddle before the real night begins.

She adores Kelly, who can’t seem to eat without dropping all kinds of goodies on the floor.

But we’re at that stage in life where, loving dog owners that we are, our thoughts turn morbid and we realize that MacKenzie is coming up to the half way point of life expectancy. And, knowing what a heart crushing experience that is to be, we want to have a crutch, a companion pup, to pace it out.

I know. A bit twisted.

That’s not the only reason. MacKenzie loves other dogs. Ren and I are dog people. I grew up in a two dog family. She wanted to get another dog last year. But I wanted to wait until after we got our daughters. It needed to be a family experience.

Last Saturday, in a spur of the moment trip, we headed east along the Ohio river until we arrived at a small podunk town where a young couple had a litter of blue heelers. The girls watched Benji on the ride there. Kelly muttered “puppy” while Monica muttered “baby” throughout the entire movie.

We quickly narrowed the choice down to two of the pups. Taking them both out of their enclosure, we set them before MacKenzie. The one she showed the most interest in was the one we took.

Here’s a picture of her.

We named her Magdalena – Lena for short – after the Rio Magdalena.

Monica is ecstatic. The puppy is giving her lots of practice with moderation (how to hold her gently, how to back away and not be intimidating, how not to jump around and make loud noises around a sleeping pup).

We’re happy to add more chaos.