Crate: check.

We ventured to PetSmart yesterday and found a good mid-sized crate that will fit nicely into our bedroom and just under the window in our storage room as well. (Eventually, we expect that room to function as Boykins' own space, as well as the place we store our shoes, coats, and miscellaneous frisbee junk.) Maybe she'll learn to think of it as her own room!

It's really weird to start thinking about pet stuff after so many years of skipping over that section of the grocery store, etc. As Quan says, "It's a whole new world."

In addition to the crate, we found a good cushion for it, and I'm hoping to find something else soft and cushy that Boykins can use as a pillow/toy. At the recommendation of a person from the Boston Meetup group, we also bought this small fleecy "dog" that is filled with some buckwheat or something. When you microwave it for 30 secods, it gets warm and is supposed to help the pup feel like it's cozying up to a littermate or its mom. Let's hope it makes her feel cozy and comfortable.

More prep

This is probably not very interesting to most people, but I'm really surprised at how much stuff I'm going to need for the wee girl. I plan to do the big crate purchase today. Along with a cushion or pillow for inside, that should get us most of the way there. It's just nuts!

And a week from today, I'll be on the road to Marshall! Whoopee!

Boykins is Go!

Whoa! Sarah and Quan have taken the plunge and will be adopting a French Bulldog pup from Encore French Bulldogs, a breeder in Marshall, MI. Earl Boykins (Boykins for short) will officially join us on July 1, when I fly from Boston to Detroit to pick her up. She and I will do a quick family tour, visiting Kalamazoo (to see my brother and his family) and West Olive (where we'll stay with my parents). Then it's back to Boston on July 4! Having only been responsible for ourselves since, well, college at least, this is exciting and daunting all at once.

As we start to get the house ready (rearranging rooms, looking for spots to puppy-proof), it's all starting to sink in. Where are we going to put the pup? (Our room at first, then into her own space after she's ready.) Where will we store her food? (I'm going on a storage expedition today.) How many toys do you need when you don't even have the dog yet? (As of today: 4, apparently.) Where collars are concerned, what's too girly? (According to Quan, anything with pink and flowers. But I still think it's cute.)

We're picking Boykins up a bit later than most folks get their puppies, so she'll be a bit closer to 14 weeks by the time I get her home. I doubt it'll be the case, but Quan and I do wonder if those two weeks between 12 weeks (when we could have gotten her) and 14 weeks (when we do get her) will mean we've missed "crucial puppy cuteness." Probably not, but Quan likes to joke that Boykins will practically be a surly teenager who doesn't want to be seen with us and just wants a ride to the pet store so she can shop with her friends.