This is Ollie. She is mostly chocolate lab with a little German shorthair in there too. She has a cute white stripe on her chest and had blue eyes that are slowly getting darker.
The beginning of life with Ollie-
Things were a little weird when I went to pick her up. The lady wouldn't text Matt back, and then would only text one word answers. When I went to the address she gave us, it wasn't even a house. There were some town homes/apartments and a church across the street. I called and she said she would bring the puppies (there were 2) outside. Then we waited for 25 minutes. She finally brought the puppies outside and told us that they were six weeks old and that they had been weaned from the mother and were eating solid food. I picked the female and we headed home! The whole next day Ollie barely ate anything and when she did she threw it up. She was having accidents all over the place and even peed and pooped in her kennel. Matt said that dogs don't usually poop where they sleep. We figured that she was just struggling to adjust. She was really struggling to eat for the rest of the week and had diarrhea. Matt tried everything to get her to eat- he put water and milk in her food to soften it and even fed her chicken from the fridge! Things were just still a little weird. We discussed taking her to the vet to find out what was going on. I called and they were very concerned and urged us to bring her in. Matt took Ollie to the vet the next day. They were way worried about her having a parvo, which is very dangerous for dogs, so Matt had to take her in the back entrance and everyone wore gloves. Matt said one nurse snuggled up to her and the vet sent her away to get washed up and change clothes. The vet took one look at Ollie and told Matt that she definitely was younger than we were told and severely malnourished. She has a cleft palate because she couldn't/didn't nurse (not sure why). She had MONO and probably had worms. They gave her some medicine for her diarrhea and sent them home. CRAZY! We are assuming that the people who sold her to us breed puppies and sell them before they are ready to get them out of their house. They probably keep them in kennels all the time (which might explain why she poops in her kennel and why she is so clingy). People have asked us if we regret buying her after the sketchy situation, but we are actually glad. Matt and I are grateful that we have the opportunity to help her get healthy and take care of her and give her a home with a ton of love! Luckily, now that we have switched her food and she has grown a little bit, things are going really well! It feels really good to have a dog in the house again!
When we brought her home, she was soooo tiny! She had to climb into her food dish to get close enough to eat.
At first, she would hide under the cabinets. She was so tiny that she fit under the cabinet. Seriously.
From day one, Ollie was the mostly cuddly little puppy. She had to be right where you were at all times. The first night I sat on the floor with her and was holding Ben, but she couldn't just be near us... she had to climb right up into my lap and get in on the action!
And who cares if your bum is hanging off where you are sleeping?
Getting literally in the MIDDLE of Ben and I.
Getting a little nibble of Ben's fingers...
Matt's chest is a good spot too...
His face is better!
Sleeping was rough at first. Matt slept on the floor with her for a couple nights, but got tired of that and moved the kennel into the mudroom. He set his alarm to get up every few hours and take her outside. When I woke up to work out, I would get her out and let her play/sleep (whatever she felt like doing) with me while I worked out. Let me say that it is hard to do any kind of plank with a puppy nipping at your face while you do it!
More snuggles. This puppy is going to struggle to learn that she can't sit on the couch.
Ben and Ollie are still figuring each other out. Ben doesn't like it when Ollie nips at him or licks his face, but is always watching her and will smile when she is playing around with Matt. Ollie does not like it when Ben cries. It freaks her out! Things are going to get interesting when Ben starts crawling!
Ollie has finally earned a little independence. She had so many accidents for the first couple weeks. Like we would take her outside to pee and she would come inside and pee again. I think Matt almost killed her. Now she is doing so much better! She has earned a little freedom to roam. She really likes the mudroom. I find her in there sleeping on Matt's jackets that are on the floor, or this time she was sleeping on my boot! Anything that smells like us!
No dog will ever compare to Charlie. As I'm sure is true of everyone's first dog. However, Ollie is making her home with us and we are loving it. She has such a funny personality! She always wants to be where you are. I let her out in the morning and she follows me around the kitchen. If you are sitting on the floor, she will climb right into your lap. If you pick her up, she will climb up your chest to lick your face. Ollie is super playful. She figured out how to play with her toys so quickly! She loves toys! Ollie has a great nose. She has her nose to the ground sniffing out the nearest smell. Matt had some ducks in the garage and she found them within a minute! He thinks she is going to be a good hunting dog. It is even more fun to have a dog now that we don't have to watch her like a hawk! She is so sweet and we love her! Here's to a new adventure!
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