The Story of Wrigley: Our Goldendoodle!

Hello Friends! Meet Wrigley, our first dog!

It was a long journey to get here … our oldest three boys started asking for a dog since, well, they could say the word “DOG!”

I was NOT excited about having a dog. I had a hard enough time keeping up with our boys, I didn’t want another thing to take care of!

However, this quote resonated with me….

“Every boy should have two things: a dog and a mother who lets him have one.”

― Robert Benchley

In 2013, we told George and Clark that when Paul was potty-trained, we’d get a dog! They were overjoyed. However…

Just as Paul was potty-trained, I found out I was pregnant. So, they boys got a BROTHER instead of a dog. Thankfully, they were okay with that … for a while.

Every subsequent Christmas and birthday – the number one requested item was: A DOG.

In 2020…we finally decided it was time. And you all know why. This year we were all stuck at home with plenty of time on our hands!

We got serious about looking for a Goldendoodle. However, I didn’t realize how expensive they could be. I was NOT going to pay what most people were asking.

I told the boys that if we were going to get a dog, we would have to find the right one, for the right price.

So the boys started praying. They asked God for a golden doodle dog for a ‘good price.’

I also saw Clark googling:

“Goldendoodles for less than one thousand dollars.”

For several months, we couldn’t find one. But then…we went for a visit to Tulsa.

Randomly at dinner, I told a friend that we were searching for a golden doodle, but could not find one for a decent price. This friend gave me the number of a local breeder who sells them for a very reasonable price.

There was MORE great news:

1. I knew the breeder’s family! I had worked with her brother-in-law in Colorado Springs!
2. I had friends with her dogs.
3. She had a litter recently born and they’d be available the same week that my in-laws would be visiting us in Minnesota!

Where did we find her?

RJB Doodles in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Ted and I SECRETLY went to meet the puppies and of course, we fell in love. It’s hard to meet a puppy and not BUY a puppy!

This was finally the right breeder, the right dog, at the right time and the right price!!!

We bought one.

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However…it was a secret. We would surprise the boys the week before Christmas!

When the puppy was ready, Papa and Nana picked him up and and drove him from Tulsa all the way to our home in Minnesota.

The Big Puppy Surprise:

When they were just a few minutes away, I took the boys upstairs. I told them we had to hang out in my room for a little while because dad had to work on something for Christmas.

While we were upstairs, Ted greeted Nana and Papa at the door and let them in. They put the crate in front of the Christmas tree, they put the puppy in the crate, and a blanket over the crate. Nana and Papa stood in front of the crate, blocking it from view.

Then…Ted came upstairs, knocked on my door, told the boys he was ready…and they came downstairs.

The boys were SOO excited to see their Nana and Papa.

Then, Nana and Papa moved to show the crate. They removed the blanket and showed them the REAL surprise – their PUPPY!

They exclaimed this as the BEST DAY EVER!!!!!!!!

The Best Christmas ever!

The best dog ever!

The best parents ever!

The best nana and papa ever!

They were thrilled and oh, what a memory!

Why the name?

All the men in our family have a “W” in their middle names…so we wanted our dog’s name to start with a W.

We chose “Wrigley” because the boys were born in the Chicago area and we are Cubs fans. The Cubs play in ‘Wrigley’ field.

Welcome to our family Wrigley!

Here’s the video of the boys surprised with a new dog:

Thanks for reading! Merry Christmas everyone!