People thought we were crazy when JD and I got a puppy while I was 11 weeks pregnant—and they were probably right. For pretty much our whole marriage, I’ve asked JD for a dog. I found myself looking up Breeders in Bakersfield and pictures of puppies online often even though I knew JD’s answer would always be no. I even started crying one day when I was showing him a picture of a puppy I wanted.

Looking back, all of this makes me laugh. I am SUCH a dog person. It was just a normal day of looking up golden retriever puppies when I came across the sweetest pictures: fluffy golden retriever puppies for an amazing price in Fresno. I immediately contacted the breeder and talked him down in price. He said he would give me a better deal if we picked the puppy up that weekend which was only a day away. (Yes I did all of this before talking to JD.) I came home with my battle plan on why we needed to take this amazing deal, and to my surprise, he said yes!

We decided on the name Levi on the drive to Fresno. Levi means “attached” or “joined,” and boy were we attached to this dog when he joined our family. We had no idea what to expect when owning a dog. We started to watch YouTube videos to educate ourselves on dog training–and JD really got into it. I was pregnant and exhausted, so JD ended up being the one training and taking care of Levi the most. Levi definitely loves his bud JD. Levi is a golden retriever, so learning tricks was nothing to him. As long as you have treats, he will do anything for you.

Levi’s biggest problem is people. This dog LOVES people. He will maul you to death, but it’s out of love—something we are working on. When you have a golden you can expect to have company 24/7. Levi will follow me all around the house. He will even lay in the bathroom while I shower sometimes just to be close. The best part about Levi is his snuggles. He is huge snugly fluff ball, and we love him. The past year of having him went by so fast. We can’t wait for Jane and Levi to grow up together.