Meet our NEW pup DASH

The McConnell’s are now a family of FOUR! The hubby and I have been talking about getting another dog on and off but never felt that the timing was right. To be honest, I’m not sure the timing is ever totally right, but this time it really felt right. Haha, at least that’s what I’m telling myself.

Last weekend (on Valentine’s Day no less) we drove up to Sebastopol, CA to Skansen Kennel to check out some pups. Skansen Kennel was actually founded in Sweden in 1950 by Sylvia Hammarstrom. She moved to Sebastopol in 1964 and has been breeding both top show and family pet Schnauzers for the last 33 years! Sylvia breeds giant, standard and miniature schnauzers and they are some of the most BEAUTIFUL dogs! She also has llams! At this rate I feel like there should be some sort of a family discount. Two of my uncles have giants, my mom has two minis, and now we have two minis. Where’s the Nelson/Finstad/McConnell discount?

We got Emma in 2011 from Skansen’s so it’s not surprising that we got another dog from there.  Emma is like my (I mean our) first born! She is absolutely LOVED and we just ADORE her. She is my EVERYTHING. Chris always jokes that Emma comes before him (of course she does, j/k!) Haha. Here are a few pictures of when I first got Emma.

  

Chris didn’t come with me to get Emma. He was in PA school and was actually on rotations (he was going to be in a different place every six weeks for a year!). I was lonely in Merced and needed a dog…so we got Emma. This time around I was really excited to be taking him. Skansen’s is a really cool place to visit. The schnauzers live in big, open ½ acre pens with two or three dogs together so that they can play and run all day. Here are a couple of pictures of the minis and giants. Oh and a llama too!

  

We initially decided we wanted a male pup (thinking it would get along better with Emma), but found out that it didn’t really matter. All of Sylvia’s dogs are females and they do great together. The pup we were looking at has the same dad as Emma (we thought that was pretty cool!) so our little guy and Emma are actually half siblings! The pups were only 13 weeks old and hadn’t been outside of the pen they had been in since being born. When we first met the pup he was very shy/nervous and then started warming up. Once he adjusted, the little guy was proving to be rather rambunctious! We were a little worried that this guy might be too much for us to handle. Luckily we decided to ask to see the other pup in the litter (thought it was a girl). Good thing we asked…because the second pup is the one we decided to get! Long story short, we thought the other pup in the liter was a girl but only after his bath did we find out that the little girl was actually a boy! LOL. At that point it didn’t matter to us if the pup was a girl or boy. We liked his more laid back/calm personality and thought he would be a better fit for our family. Check out these cute pictures!

  

  

  

We got Emma at 9 months and were very fortunate that she was already potty trained. All we had to do was make sure she adjusted to our place and routine. The last time I had a puppy puppy was with my childhood dog Cosmo (also a schnauzer) but my parents did the majority of the potty training. I know Chris and I are in for a lot of work, but I already know it will be worth it. Our new addition has already stolen our hearts and is adjusting to his new life very well. Emma is also adapting and learning to be a great big sister. I think she still needs some time (she’s been an only child for almost 5 years), but I hope in the end they will be best buddies. I’m sure both pups will be making appearance on this blog more often. Now I really need to get writing that children’s book series I wanted to do about Emma. I guess there will be two mini schnauzers in the Adventures of Emma series haha.

It was a truly wonderful experience picking up our pup and making our family feel more complete. One of the best Valentine’s Day/pre-birthday presents ever (my birthday was on 2/17)! A huge THANK YOU to my husband Chris for indulging me once again and learning to love schnauzers just as much as I do. I’m so glad to have his help with our new pup and know this will be a lot of FUN! I love you Chris! <3<3<3

Here’s our little guy meeting my Dad…already so in love with him! I mean look at my dad’s face!