THE STORY BEHIND WEB

Will has wanted a lab for a while now. A lot of time has passed since we lost our lab, Trey. It was very hard on both of us, but especially for Will. He grew up with dogs and has a real passion for them.

We celebrated our 15th anniversary in November and I started thinking then about trying to surprise Will with a puppy. I wasn't feeling well and time passed on to Christmas. That's when I began seriously searching.

I talked to so many people, I couldn't even tell you how many. People either wanted too much money, didn't have the right color (he wanted black), or wouldn't have a puppy for sale until the spring. I searched hard. It took a lot of time and it was difficult trying to keep Will unaware of what I was doing.

I posted an ad on craigslist and got a few responses, but then I saw an ad posted by someone else that was called LabMations! That intrigued me, as I figured a Dalmatian mixed with a lab would make for a big dog, which Will would like. I also have always liked the idea of having a big dog around the house. I knew that Will wouldn't care that the dog wasn't pure bred. He really loves all dogs, all animals, for that matter.

So, I contacted the poster. Her name is Megan and she is also a nursing student and also wants to do pediatric nursing! Oh, and she also drives a Jeep! How crazy is that?! We were meant to meet!

After some e-mails back and forth, it was explained to me that Megan has two Dalmatians who were supposed to breed, however, her lab got to the Dalmatian first! That resulted in her so-named "designer dogs". (See Web's parents in the pictures above.)

I decided that I did want to pursue getting one of her 9 puppies and asked Megan to pick out the biggest male for us. We live two hours from each other so we arranged to meet halfway which worked out great.

My intention was to go get the dog and just carry him inside and hand him to Will and really surprise him. However, I had to tell him because it was just too difficult to come up with a reason I would be leaving somewhere without him on a Saturday. Y'all know we do everything together when he isn't working or I'm not at school....been that way since August 1992.

So, I got out the computer and told him I had a late anniversary present for him. I handed the computer to him and on it was a picture of his new puppy. He said things like, "What do you mean? What are you talking about?" He was really shocked. Of course, we both got all teary because we are sappy that way.

After I told him about the puppy and all of the people I had talked to trying to find him a dog, he said, "His name is going to be Web, because you found him on the Internet." I tried to convince him to think on it overnight, but he had his mind made up. Web it was.

And, so, here we are with Web right now who spends his days eating, playing, sleeping, sleeping, and sleeping. Bailey loves him and is so excited to have a friend. I am sure the two of them will bring us many adventures, just like Trey and Belle did (see my old post--"The adventures of Trey and Belle").

Wish us luck as we begin our journey with this little pup who already loves to chew everything in site. Also, he moos like a cow. He really does. He will be sleeping and all of a sudden we will hear a "moo" and know that he is up.

Oh, one last thing, Willis has already learned to whine just like Web and also say, "Wanna go outside Pup?" Between Willis, Bailey, and Web, we are sure to get a laugh a minute.