What it takes to Doodle?

When we started on this endeavor it was at the prompting of our first doodle Phebe.

When we brought her into our home in 2019 she was 4 months old and kind of looked like a skrawny older dog.

She was all legs and very shy. She was the last of her litter. Our own kids asked why we rehomed a senior dog knowing WE were already old. We laughed and told them she was only 4 months old. When she went into her first heat we knew we had an extremely maternal dog on our hands. She would line up her toys and make sure they were all there, and then protect them from being played with by others.

What would it be like to let her have a litter and raise one and rehome some. We have very active growning grandkids and knew the miracle of birth and small animals would be a great learning tool.

We did not know the learning tool would be necessary for us. Time was not on our side since gestation is only 63 days or so. Hours and hours of talking to others, hundreds of articles and YouTube videos, and many calls questioning anyone who could help.

The first puppy was born on our bed as we were discussing whether to let Phebe sleep in the whelping box without us in there. We had a family in our area that had done this before and was so helpful. The Limars came along side us and helped in every step as we learned. Linnie was the information mentor and Jordyn was crucial in helping us find the right families. Our families had similar passions, football, Jesus, and loving others. We would not have made it through the first litter without their help. We ended up with 10 amazing families that took the pups and still keep in touch. You can see some of their information on the HAPPY OWNERS page on the site.

Our beautiful grown up 'silver phantom' goldendoodle

momma gave us 10 pups, 9 females and one male. there were 6 black,3 carmel tan, and one brown pup. Willow became the momma of this last litter and has her own miracle story.

During this season the wonderful part has been to meet and see the families and reasons that people wanted these companions in the middle of hard financial times and uncertain changes in our country. We found that they valued adding animals to their family that would be able to enjoy nature, exercise, community, and friendship and learning in their families. Dogs create special heart connections in the family. We are retired and in our 70ishes and have had many dogs, some

'dropped off' by our kids when they moved, started families, school, adventures. They all became precious to us, but even more they showed us that we were precious to them. Truthfully, the doodles have been my favorite.

This month families came over to look and play with the dogs. Our grandkids can't get enough of them, one family brought their kids over to do 'homeschool' homework on observing animals and how they grow. The kids took notes, viewed our whelping area, talked about the genetics of the dogs and just played with them in their play area.

Another friend comes by just to cuddle puppies when she has a bad day at work in her home.

One of the families came from a culture that never allowed dogs in the home and part of a family.

Some families drove hours to pick their special friend up at our house. Others arranged flights from the middle of the country. The joy on people's faces when they meet their own family member to take home and watch grow, is priceless.

Enjoy some of our favorite moments.