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As we made our way through the dark woods in late January, the cold air surrounded us.

We followed a man to his barn as he guided us down a pathway dimly lit by his lantern.

Arriving at the large metal building, the man opened the door revealing an organized shed full of tools and equipment.

I could see a glow of light shining in the back of the barn. A small, white dog ran up to us to see who had entered.

She quickly ran to the back again and jumped over a low wall that sectioned off part of the floor.

Beside the white dog that had greeted us were her two little puppies.

Without saying a word, the man picked up the two puppies by the scruff of their neck and placed them in our waiting arms. They were so tiny, so docile. We were here to pick one out, finally ready to begin a new adventure with another dog.

As we took turns cuddling the puppies, their mama barked and jumped excitedly around our feet.

She was obviously offended by our intrusion, an intrusion that would end with one of her 8-week-old pups leaving her forever.

Off-white fur covered the puppies from head to tail. Both were adorable, but we were here to pick one.

Hard as it was, we choose the smaller of the two and handed the other puppy back to the man.

It felt like a dream sitting in the car as we made our way back home. Our new puppy was so still and quiet. I am sure that she was wondering who we were and where we were taking her. She did not appear to be afraid, just curious.

We began tossing around names, each suggesting various ones that came to mind.

Names such as Jingle and Noel were suggested because she was born in early December. Snow-related names came to mind as we considered her off-white coat. Still, other girl names found their way to the top of the list.

Because she kind of looked like a kitty from the back, we decided to nickname her “Kit Kat” until we settled on one.

Arriving home, we began to absorb these precious first moments when she joined our family. I knew we’d look back at this time as special.

We offered her some food and water, though she was not very interested in either. Mostly she just wanted to be snuggled with, even to the point of sweetly falling asleep in our arms.

It’s easy to forget just how needy a brand-new puppy can be, between the separation anxiety at night to the housebreaking.
Our docile puppy came out of her shell after spending a couple of nights in our home and has been wide open and full of energy from the moment she exits her kennel each morning.

We are slowly developing a routine, one I’m sure will have us chasing a ball of white fluff around for quite some time.

She has brought laughs and sleep deprivation, along with her bundle of energy that keep us on our toes.

She is finally starting to understand that her kennel means sleep. She is also beginning to accept a leash.

She has a permanent name now — Princess Chloe Kit Kat. I am sure she is going to bloom into quite the dog as she grows up. That’s something I cannot wait to watch.

Welcome home, Chloe. We loved you from the moment we met you.

Contact Linda Vestal at lindavestal@triad.rr.com.