lab puppy love

this past weekend, i was lucky enough to be invited along to witness the first meeting of a lovely family and their very first “puppy-to-be”…not to mention that i got to snuggle 6-week old yellow lab pups…eeeeeek!

i always get nostalgic from the smell of wood chips and puppy breath…it always reminds me of my first trip to our breeder to visit our family’s first puppy when i was nine years old (photo on right).

Cooperslane Kennel, owned and operated by Brian and Valerie Cooper, is located within the scenic countryside of Arthur, Ontario. they boast some of the most beautiful Labs (and Golden Retrievers) i have ever seen…black, brown and of coarse yellow. the kennel is spotless, friendly and all the dogs are obviously so loved (apparently everyone gets their turn in the house, on a rotating basis, so nobody feels left out). it sure shows…every single one i met had a friendly temperament, whatever their age or energy level.

SIDENOTE: there is also quite a lovely cat walking the grounds that i bonded with.

Cooperslane Kennel also provides pups to many of the wonderful services who use dogs to help people with special needs, such as National Service Dogs, Encouraging Paws, Golden Opportunity and Autism Dog Services.

i loved watching the excited faces on the kids, as they held their puppy for the first time. and well…you can tell mom fell in love. as a mother of three boys, she will finally be getting “her girl.” the kids have already named the little girl Bailey, which is a great choice (sidenote: i named one of my childhood dogs the very same).

the litter we were snuggling was a big one…10 pups! 6 males and 4 females…2 of those females are already spoken for by one of services, so the options were narrowed down to 2 pups. the family (especially mom) bonded with one of the females (who is the only pup photographed in this post). now the breeders, who match the puppy’s personality to suit the family’s lifestyle, will have the final say, but we’re crossing our fingers that this sweet little one will be “their Bailey”…besides she perfectly matches mom’s hair!

everybody who knows me knows that i am a fan of the mutt first and foremost, but i easily could have been sold on one of those lovely lab pups. hopefully i’ll be invited back to Cooperslane Kennel for some more snuggles and licks. at least the family has promised me that i can visit again when the pup comes home in a few weeks…YIPPEEEEEE!!!!