About two years ago now, if not more, Rob and I were on a date and we went to the Century Park Starbucks here in Edmonton. There used to be a uber hip and trendy yoga clothing store beside it. Like cool before lulu was cool kind of thing. As we walked up, so did the owner of the store and this GORGEOUS dog. I had never seen such a lovely looking dog in my life. So Rob and I walked over and asked her about her dog.
It was a chocolate Labradoodle with green eyes. I was officially in love. And I offcially wanted one of my own.
Photo Credit: Wikipedia.
Prior to this fated meeting, I really hadn't heard of, or seen a Labradoodle. I would say their rise to dog fame has really occurred in the last 5 years or so. Prior to this they were generally unknown or at least not in such high demand.
A few things I love about Labradoodles...
#1 (And perhaps the biggest selling feature in my opinion) They are generally non-shedding and hypoallergenic. Meaning no dog hair all over my house, no major doggy odor and my friends with allergies wouldn't have to disown me for getting a dog. Seriously genius.
#2. That shaggy, curly coat. Obviously you can have them groomed whichever way you like, but I love the shaggy curly look.
#3. They are smart dogs. Mix a lab and a poodle and you get one smart dog. I like smart dogs.
#4. They are generally family-friendly dogs.
They come in a variety of colors, ranging from chocolate to apricot to red to chalk (and many more). Adorable non?
Photo Credit: Wikipedia.
The major downside to these dogs? The price. Most Labradoodles from a breeder range from $1500 to $2500. Gack! For a dog! Hence why I have not owned a Labradoodle. How could I justify spending that amount on a dog when that amount could equate to a decent work car for Rob, or two months of mortgage payments?
But... the most miraculous of things happened last Thursday. Since we have returned from the Island we have been discussing adding a dog to life at Nepper's Landing. It has something we have been tossing around for awhile and recently decided it was time. I was looking around at shelters and online. I wasn't prepared to spend a lot, and ideally I wanted to find a good dog that needed a home for whatever reason.
So on Thursday morning, I dropped Gabe off at preschool and headed off to my local Starbucks (actually, where all of this began funny enough). I sat down to enjoy my Sumatra and Pumpkin Scone and decided to scroll through kijiji. And voila, there it was, an ad that read, "Golden Labradoodle to a good home." I nearly spat out of my coffee, I couldn't believe it! I checked the ad views and it was only at 2 people (this is a good way to tell how old the ad is). So I typed out my reply as fast as my little fingers could go. And within 20 minutes I received a phone call from the owners offering to drop her off at our house within hours!
At this point I started freaking out. Oh right, and I had to tell my husband we would be dog owners within a matter of hours (good thing he was on board prior to all of this anyway). It was something we had talked about for so long, but it was actually happening. I waited to tell the kids only because you just never know with kijiji sometimes. So they literally didn't find out until she was at our door. And what a surprise that was!
So here she is, my very own, super cute and super friendly Labradoodle!
I am in love. So is she apparently. She's quite attached to me, already. Like we're pretty much Siamese twins at this point. Understandably so I suppose, considering her family of 5 years just dropped her off on our doorstep and drove away (they were moving out of Province and could not bring her along). Hopefully with time and training this improves, but so far she loses it when I leave the house. Sorry neighbors!
She is a sweet girl. She is great with the kids. They are having a hoot having a dog around. Even though she's 5, there is still a lot of puppy love. She walks around with her tongue hanging out (the side usually), wagging her tail, and follows us everywhere. She has a lovely personality. We've taken her out a few times with a frisbee or a ball to a local ice rink (obviuosly with no ice yet). Its the perfect off-leash park. She will need plenty of exercise, which is great because I need a running/walking buddy.
(And Labradoodles are super fantastic. Especially free ones).
So cute!!! Just to warn you in advance, though, they are not allergy proof. I had a toy poodle - again no shedding and hypoallergenic. But she KILLED me. I was so allergic. It's actually the skin/dandriff that some people are allergic to. Thus, short-haired non-shedding dogs were way worse for me than long haired ones.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. Funny that they could be advertised as such. Thankfully none of the Neppers have any allergies but good to keep in mind for those people we know who do (more on the cat end of things, mind you that hasn't stopped us from owning 3 cats!).
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