It's snow joke, the quest for the hairy hoover

There has been a recurring theme in our house for at least a year, and that’s my eldest's request for a dog, a bit like Chinese water torture, the relentless drip, drip, drip of ‘Daddy can I have a dog’ has slowly but surely worn me down.   Before you read that and think I merely gave up I should be clear that it’s been very much my decision to say yes to this request. 
I didn’t grow up with many pets, the odd budgie (tragic deaths all round) a hamster, a few fish and my sisters' various pet rabbits were about the extent of my pet knowledge. I was much more interested in the outdoors than any domesticated animal.  
We briefly tried to have a dog when the kids were really young which didn’t go well and resulted in us having to rehome him. All round not the finest point in our lives and we also had chickens for a bit until they kept escaping and I felt it wasn’t fair to keep them in a tiny cage all day, so they got rehomed. So taking on a dog again was something that really needed a lot of thought and some very honest conversations. These focused mainly on my obligations to look after that pet, given everything already on my plate, and the limited time I had available; the type of dog and mainly its behaviour. I knew what I really didn’t want and what would push my buttons, so we’ve gone into this very openly. But also, eight years is a long time and I know a lot more about myself and as a family, we’re in a different place in all our lives. So now is the time when making this commitment is reasonable for us.

We had agreed that we were not going to get a new puppy, I knew that sleep (or lack thereof) was a major issue last time and so an older dog was planned; rehoming was also important, as we wanted to give a pet a wonderful place to live and it needed to keep up with our busy outdoor lives. The list of requirement grew and the dog list shrank. We visited various rehoming sites and looked at a whole host of options, we had to really consider taking our friends' new puppy who was adorable but would struggle with our lifestyle due to his size and thick coat. We went through several heartaches as we were let down by people changing their minds last minute, as well as having to weave a web of secrecy around our kids so that they had no idea of our plans. Eventually, all the pieces fell into place and we arranged to collect a six month old Labrador looking for a new home. Friday evening was the designated collection time and after arranging some babysitters we set off to collect our new addition. 

Nature, however, had other ideas and as we headed west the snow began to fall. By the time we joined the M3 it was falling heavily and 10 miles further on, the road was down to a single lane of traffic and hours of delay before we could get to the house. We had been speaking with the current owners and as it turned out she had got stuck at work so we made the difficult choice of turning back. We’d made the mistake of not packing an emergency kit, spare clothes or water and stuck overnight in the snow was really not a wise move. Turning back was the safest option and we managed to turn back soon after. 10 miles later we were back on much safer roads and soon home.

As usual for the south of the Uk, the snow didn’t hang around and by midday, Saturday the roads were clear enough to collect our new friend. The local roads were still in quite deep snow but the 4X4 managed without issue. 
I think we both pretty much instantly fell for the bundle of blond energy that greeted us at the door and it wasn't long before she was loaded into the car and we were driving her home to surprise our two girls. 

Walking through the door with a puppy they weren't expecting was one of those moments that will stay with me forever. I was certainly choked up as they were both speechless and very excited about our new family member. She's certainly found a spot in all our hearts and I'm sure she's going to make regular appearances in our YouTube videos and Instagram pictures. Looks like water can wear down the hardest stone, but it can also create beautiful sculptures.