A new puppy!!!

Nope...not yet, but Gail and I drove up North of Malone (closer to Canada than Malone) to visit with the mother of Ben's future puppy today...we were checking her out to see if she passed muster, and she definitely did...Jewel's a beautiful chocolate Labrador retriever with a delightfully square head and body who will be giving birth to her 3rd litter of puppies this coming Monday...



She welcomed us into her home and spent the entire visit giving us kisses, leaning against us, and sitting on my foot, while we talked with her owners about the puppies that would be coming on St. Patrick's Day...


She's a sweet and earnest girl that is not in the least bit pointy or hound-esque...


We have dibs on the female pick of the litter, she has had litters of 9 and 12 puppies before, and since she was bred to another chocolate, she'll probably have all (or almost all) chocolates...


Although this picture isn't perfect it does give you a look at 2 more generations of the same line...the chocolate, Isabella, is her daughter (yes daughter, we were surprised too) by the same father, so she will be sisters with Ben's puppy...the yellow is Jewel's granddaughter, Ruby...


Isabella is also beautiful and square and taller than Jewel, which would indicate that Buddy, the father of both Isabella and Ben's pup, is more of an American Labrador...Jewel is more along the lines of the short and stout English Labrador...

We are obviously quite excited and very impressed with Jewel and her daughter Isabella, and Gail is excitedly (maybe beyond excitedly...down towards excitedly's neighbor obsessively) listing and organizing names for the puppy, even though the choice will be Ben's...