Everett

Everett before I got him

After I had to put Brody down, I knew I would want another companion dog. The question in my mind was always “when.” It was more down to if an opportunity: fell into my lap like Brody did. He didn’t make the cut to be a show dog. I was talking to the breeder of Brody, and she said she would put some “feelers” out to see if the same type of opportunity would happen.

Her daughter, Audra, knew a breeder that had a girl puppy that they were already going to get trained as a therapy dog. The plans for her were to take her to a nursing home to see how she did around that type of environment. When I heard this, I immediately wanted to learn more. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out because when they brought her to the nursing home, she was deadly afraid of wheelchairs. It’s hard to say whether she would be afraid as time went by, since she was only 13 weeks old.

A couple weeks later, Audra knew another breeder that had a litter of puppies that were around 8 weeks old (this was 5 weeks ago.) Before having them go to families, they had to get tested to see if they would make the cut to be show dogs. Out of the litter, only a couple of them “potentially” could be show dogs, and the rest could go to homes. After learning about my situation, the breeder with the pups had one of them that is very loyal, independent, and smart.

I was instantly entertained by the idea of getting a new puppy. After figuring out the logistics, I decided to get him. His name is Everett, and he’s as cute as ever! I decided to keep the name, since he responds to it. He went to a trainer’s house for 10 days (a week from Wednesday.) The trainer brought him to my house on Saturday. Since he’s been here, he’s been learning a whole new routine.

His favorite thing to do is give kisses! He loves lap time with me and is even getting used to my wheelchair. I have taken him for one walk with me but haven’t hooked him up to my wheelchair, like I did Brody as he hasn’t quite got the concept of walking on a leash. Also, I don’t want to run him over either. Although Sandy has taken him for walks several times although he kind of just walks all over the place! Since he’s only 13 weeks old, he has a lot of learning yet to do.

It’s going to be trial and error for the next few weeks as we both learn a new routine. He is so sweet and very loving. He’s working on “crate time” and basic commands. Each day is a new one, and as long as I’m consistent, I know he’ll be a fantastic companion dog for me.

One interesting fact is that he’s related to Brody. Brody’s dad is his great-great-grandfather! Somehow his breeder figured it out. He also acts like him too, by just lounging over his bed like the picture above. I'm going to get him registered as a companion dog so I can take him everywhere.

Jenni