I left on Thursday morning for Hayti, South Dakota... just beside myself with the anticipation of finally meeting Annie. I had her crate all ready... pink baby blanket, pink stuffed giraffe... and all the trimmings.. Late in the afternoon I got a call from Lisa, the breeder. She was so upset. She had taken Annie to the vet to get her health certificate... traveling papers... when they made a discovery. Lisa had noticed that Annie's tongue seemed to be hanging out of her little mouth more than normal for a puppy. She mentioned it to the vet on Thursday. After examination the vet showed Lisa that Annie has a condition call "wry" jaw. This is when one side of the jaw grows faster than the other leaving the bit out of alignment. It is hard to correct and can get worse as they grow and cause more orthodontic problems...
So I spent a stressful afternoon trying to figure out what to do. Thursday night I got on line and read about the deformity... sounded pretty severe... I left Mitchell, SD early Friday morning headed to Hayti without having made a decision. I arrived to a beautiful farm way out a dirt road... Tall trees, green grass, a nice breeze... that part of SD is beautiful right now... lakes and fields and big hay bales... I walked into Lisa's house and out tumbled the four Bichon puppies... each cuter than the other... At first I considered still taking Annie... she was so adorable and I have a soft spot for imperfection in animals... I even put the little pink collar I'd brought on her... but then she sat there with her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth... and I realized that I would be taking a huge risk with her health.... so then I needed to make another choice... It took forever... first I thought I would take the other girl, Mia... but she didn't really tug at my heart... When I had walked in the house, the puppy I had paid the least attention to was the one who was trying hardest to get me to love him... He came directly to me and wouldn't leave me alone...
Mozart was my second choice... He was definitely the "George Clooney" of the bunch... a perfect specimen... I went back and forth... looks or personality??? and of course, personality won out!
I came home with Morgan! We feel in love while covering the 700+ miles from SD to CO!! He got car sick and was just so pitiful for the first part of the trip... but he was a trooper... We'd stop for a while and he'd be waggin his tail trying hard to be happy... We have definitely bonded. He's laying at my feet right now and I can feel the magic working! He has already stood up to Lulu. He has barked and even growled a bit like a big dog to show her he's in charge... if he only knew... but I'm proud that he's not letting her push him around. This afternoon she was sleeping (with one eye open) on one sofa and he was on the other... Looks promising...
Will post a few pictures now and be sure that more will come!
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