It is amazing how something so small can bring such a big smile and joy to someone but I had not even met Zoey yet and I knew I loved her. Not because she is cute as could be or because she looks at me like I mean the world to her, hopefully that will come later. I already love her just because I can see and hear the joy she is bringing into Barb’s life.
I know that some of you may find this hard to believe but
Barb does not have it easy. One would think being married to me is enough for
her but I will reluctantly admit that maybe, just maybe I can be a handful at
times and she needs a little bundle of joy in her life. Since losing Daisy, we
have both felt an emptiness. We still miss her every day and look at her
picture often. If she could read this we would want her to know that Zoey is
not here to replace her, that is impossible and not what we are trying to do
but Barb is ready for a Zoey in her life right now.
To be honest when we first decided to start looking we were
not totally ready for a new pet. But knowing the search would take weeks or
even months we started the search. The first step was finding reputable breeders.
Sadly there are a lot of scammers out there who prey on people looking for
dogs. You need to do your research before sending a deposit. There are horror
stories out there where people have sent deposits, flown out to pick up their puppy only to find out it was a fake address and the puppy never existed.
Luckily for us Barb found Foster Lake Frenchies. Amy and Eric were over the top
with emails, pictures, videos, posts on Facebook and even Facetiming with us
more than once. It did not matter how many questions we had, they answered each
and every one of them. We felt very confident that we were dealing with not
only a reputable breeder but one that loves and cares for their pets as
well.
Barb flew from Rapid City to Portland (via Dallas) last
Thursday to pick her up. There were more direct flights with other airlines but
due to their pet restrictions she chose American Airlines which meant going
through Dallas. Delta required pets to be 9 weeks, United was 16 weeks. American only
required pets to be 8 weeks so American it was!
After checking into her hotel, she anxiously awaited the
arrival of Zoey. Amy, Eric and their daughter arrived with Zoey. Barb was going
to get some pictures of everyone but Zoey was their favorite of the litter and it was an
emotional exchange. When Barb sent me this picture my heart burst with joy, just
seeing the smile on Barb’s face and the sparkle in her eyes. Worth every penny!
Amy and Eric even brought a little "Puppy Pack" which included everything she needed to get Zoey home.
After they left. Barb took Zoey to her room where they played for hours and got to know each other. Barb of course had to dress her up in her piggy pajamas!
![]() |
She is saying "Seriously, piggy pajamas? |
She said Zoey just zoomed around the room, especially liking the mirror which I am sure she thought was one of her pup mates! There are 2 videos in this post, all of which are very short.
When they got to Dallas she found out there her connection
to Rapid City had also been delayed and was still there! Talk about luck! This
was a smaller plane with two seats on either side of the aisle. Barb’s seat
mate was a women who grew up on a ranch about 2 miles from our place, what are
the odds of that!?!?!
![]() |
In the Jeep on the drive home |
It had snowed (again) since both of us had left so there was 6” of fresh snow on the ground. I don’t think Zoey had ever seen snow before and was tearing around it like crazy!
Barb slept on the floor with her the first night fearful that Zoey would jump off the bed and break a leg or something. That had to be good for her back!
![]() |
Crashing with momma on the floor |
Now the fun begins. House breaking, potty training....Hope we get that pretty well under control before our flooring is installed! Barb says she tears around the house like a wild thing and is already trying to chew on everything in sight.
Luckily our house is pretty much puppy proof so there is not a lot to chew on or so we think, I am betting Zoey will show us otherwise in the next few days!
![]() |
I will chew up your house! |
For those of you who missed how we came to decide on getting a Frenchie, you can click this link and catch up with this post right here.