My Special Dog Story

We are about to become the new parents of an English Cream Golden Retriever! After our Jack Russel Terrier passed away in 2011, we vowed we would never do the pet thing again. As much as our kids begged over the years the answer was no. We told them that dogs chew up your shoes, they shed all over the house, they have accidents on the carpet, they poop on the lawn and people step in it. It’s harder to travel because you have to find boarding for them and it’s expensive, or find a dog sitter. They eat a lot. They get sick, have expensive vet bills, and eventually pass away and leave a hole in your heart.

Then I thought about it one day as I looked around at the dents in our walls, the permanent marker on the furniture, stains in the carpet, places around the toilet where certain kids had missed their aim, and the trails of food crumbs in the pantry; and I realized that having a dog was no different than having a child. They both are messy, destroy the house, you can’t have anything nice or new, eat a lot, etc. - but they both offer a lot of love and give life a sense of purpose. I started feeling that our family needed a dog. I fought this feeling for a few months to see if it would pass. A couple of our kids deal with anxiety disorders and this little voice in the back of my mind kept telling me that a dog was the answer. The thought of getting a dog would normally give me anxiety, but slowly I was starting to soften up to the idea. One of our kids is always bored and doesn’t have a lot of friends. That voice came again one day as I was feeling bad for this child, and it assured me that a dog would take away the loneliness and boredom from my child. The voice also said that the dog would would make the kids cut down on screen time and more outdoors time. The voice told me that a dog would force me to get up earlier in the day and go on walks, which would make me healthier and help me feel that I have more time in my day because I’d get an earlier start. The voice then said a dog would teach me how to re-prioritize what’s important in life and what’s not. It would teach us all more love and patience. Teach the kids responsibility. Tatem wouldn’t be the youngest anymore and he’d have someone depending on him. It would teach my kids to play more and fight less. The dog would be a listening ear when they’ve had a bad day and want to vent. It would give us a reason to camp and hike more. A reason to love more.

A month ago while we were tubing at Nordic Valley, we noticed a white dog that worked at the resort. He seemed to be the happiest dog we’d ever seen and did such a great job helping the tubers carry their tubes up the hill and help out the workers. My kids said, “Mom, if we ever get a dog, it needs to be a dog like that one.” Well, that stuck in my head. The voice told me it wasn’t time yet, but very soon I’d know when it was time to find our dog. I didn’t tell anyone.

Last week while Paisley was getting her hair cut, I started asking our friend what she liked about having a dog. She replied, “Are you getting a dog?” And I said, “I think so.” Paisley was shocked! Our friend said, “This is the perfect time to get on KSL because it’s puppy season, and dogs are having new litters as we speak.”

That night as we sat around the dinner table, I said ever so casually, “Guys, we are getting a dog”. Manuel about choked on his food as all the kids started cheering. After trying to talk us out of it, he finally accepted the idea and before we knew it we were picking out names for our future dog.


That night I had a dream I was hugging a retriever. The next morning something woke me up very early and I got up and felt drawn to pull up KSL. I looked up the type of breed the dog at Nordic Valley might have been and realized it was an English Cream Golden Retriever. I did a search for that on KSL and found one ad that had been freshly posted for a new litter of English Cream puppies. It was in Brigham City, not too far from us. I called and the nice lady invited us over to her ranch that day. It was Friday and the kids had piano lessons after school, but we soon learned that piano lessons had been canceled. We jumped in the car and took a drive to the ranch in Brigham City. There were horses, labs, and retrievers playing all over the property. The kids had so much fun visiting. We got to meet the parents of the puppies and hold them. We learned that English Cream Golden Retrievers are the calmer version of a lab and a retriever. They aren’t hyper. They are attentive and extremely intelligent and easy to train. They are loyal and will happily play fetch or watch a movie with you. They are very obedient. That was the case with the mom and dad dogs that we met. We fell in love! And we soon learned that the dog we so much loved at Nordic Valley, came from this ranch. The family knew that dog and told us it’s an older sibling to ours.❤️

In April we get to pick out our puppy (we get second pick) and bring him home. My kids are still pinching themselves and never thought they would see this day come. We called our families and they are all so excited for us. I know this dog is meant for our family because of how things have happened. Can’t wait to have him here. ❤️