Meet Teddy
This weekend, a lifelong dream of mine came true. I’ve always wanted two dogs, and now my heart is full. Meet Teddy.
Growing up, I constantly asked my parents if we could get a second dog, but they (rightfully so) said it wouldn’t work for us. I’d be lying if I said that little Emma never begged for a Dalmatian after 102 Dalmatians came out in 2000 (Oddball 🥹)
Teddy is a LUA Dalmatian from a wonderful breeder in Georgia. He was born on May 9, 2023, so we brought him home when he was 8.5 weeks old.
In Winter 2021, we decided we were ready for a second dog. Charlie, our first pup, is a hound mix from a shelter. She is high energy and has typical hound traits, so I did extensive research to find a breed that would fit well into our little family of 3. I settled on a Dalmatian for their energy needs, aloofness with strangers, intelligence, and affection towards their family and those in their circle.
Since then, it’s been a waiting game filled with ups and downs. We were set to get a puppy from our breeder in Spring 2022, but unfortunately the breeding did not take and there was no litter. She then had a litter in Fall 2022, but we decided not to get a puppy from that litter because it would be too close to our wedding in October 2022, and to be frank, potty training a puppy in the winter in Michigan sounded terrible. So needless to say, getting a puppy from her recent Spring litter has been a long time coming, and we couldn’t be more excited to finally welcome our little dude home!
So far, he has been nothing but sweet and fun. Because of what the breeder worked on with him, the airport and plane ride were a breeze. At home, Charlie was immediately curious about him and seems concerned when he cries in his crate. Teddy was initially scared of Charlie, but has quickly warmed up to his big sister!
So, why Teddy?
Zack is a history buff, and we both love our National Parks (we got married in Acadia NP in October 2022). Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt was well known for his involvement in the United States National Park system. We were also searching for a name that sounded nice with Charlie, and gravitated towards names ending in a long “e” sound. For these reasons, the name Teddy felt like a perfect addition to our family.
What were the Easter eggs I dropped alluding to his name?
Well, let’s see:
This picture was included in a carousel of dining room photos. Zack loves reading historical books so we already had these on hand:
Not only did I add a little Dalmatian picture (middle right) to the dog gallery wall, but I added a photo of Theodore Roosevelt (middle left) as well:
In one of my puppy nesting videos, I showed a Teddy Bear (fun fact: the Teddy bear was invented in honor of President Roosevelt):
I can’t wait to watch Teddy grow and for his personality to develop as he gets more comfortable with us. For now, if you need me, I’ll be soaking up all the puppy snuggles.
P.S. I changed my brand from Small House, Big Dogs to By Emma Shay a few months ago, but I’m so excited we’re finally living up to the name!
