Meet Devereaux!
Since my last post a lot has gone on. We've found ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic, self-quarantining, and under statewide stay-at-home mandates just to name a few... 2020 felt like it would be different, but this wasn't the different I was thinking. I joked that we were living in the future, but now it feels more like we are living in some terrible sci-film film. If you told me this would be happening in 2020, I probably would've laughed you off... And while I am making light of the situation, in attempt to remain slightly sane, it's the exact opposite. It's scary. People are losing their jobs, their loved ones and the scariest part- their lives! Its very real. And its very scary. Thank you to those working the front lines to keep us safe. Our front line HEROES! Thank you to the doctors, nurses, hospital-workers, grocery/retail workers, and all of you who are risking your lives to save ours. To all of you who are staying home and doing your absolute best to flatten-the-curve, and reduce the spread of COVID-19, THANK YOU! Stay positive. We are all in this together, and will come out stronger.
Well, I wasn't expecting this post to start like that... but the words were flowing, and I guess I just needed to say it. During all the craziness, we got a puppy! I am seeing a lot of people are getting pandemic puppies, but that's not quite our story. A little history... I've been lusting over Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCS) for the last 2 years. It all started with a little Cavalier on Instagram named Nessa, known in the Cav community as 'The Tinyest Cavalier.' I would share pictures of Nessa posted by her pawrents, with my friends to the point they were annoyed. They would say, 'you need your own Nessa!' And I couldn't agree more. About 6 months after that, I began the hunt for my own CKCS. And let me tell you, it is not easy to get one of these pups! Especially Blenheim (red & white) females. I spoke with breeder after breeder, was wait-listed, ending up with no luck. Then in November 2018, I spoke with a breeder that recently had a litter that would be available for homing in December. I was patiently waiting for December, and so excited! But then tragedy struck. I had a car accident. Driving home late one night, less than 4 miles from my house, a deer jumped in front of my car kicking in the front grill and damaging my hood. In my opinion the deer was on a suicide mission- he tried to jump OVER my car (and almost made it!). But that's another story... needless to say, I had a very expensive auto body repair on my Audi that got in the way of getting the puppy. Looking back, it wasn't meant to be.
Several months went by before I started my search again. Most the breeders I spoke with were planning to have litters soon, so I was just going to have to be patient and wait again. My boyfriend Ben and I had been discussing getting a dog for awhile. He really wanted a Golden Retriever, and of course my heart was set on a CKCS. So, we compromised and got a CKCS ;) Haha, if it were only that easy, right? One Wednesday night we were looking for dogs. I think we looked at every shelter and rescue in the DMV-area. But we couldn't find a dog that we could agree on, or that really fit our lifestyle. We live in a two-story condo, on the top floor, so older dogs and/or special needs dogs wouldn't really work for us. And unfortunately that was what we were mostly coming across. I took a chance and said, 'let me look for a Cavalier one more time?' And I struck gold! We found a litter in Pennsylvania that had 2 females Blenheim's available. Ben said 'lets call', and I started crying! Yes, I cried. I was so happy and my emotions were all over the place. We called and left a message. I was so anxious that night, I barely slept. We got a call back first thing in the morning, and spoke with the family. They had been in contact with another family who wanted a female also, which meant there was only one female left. And that Saturday we made a 5 hour trip to Pennsylvania to meet the puppies, and came home our little girl!
We didn't tell anyone that we were going to get her, or even that we had found a litter. At first, it felt too good to be true, and I didn't want to jinx it. Call it superstition if you want, but I didn't want anyone to know until it was real. Until we had her home with us I wasn't even sure it was real! You never know what can happen. We could've gone there and she wasn't the dog for us. I was taking every precaution. Fortunately, that wasn't the case, and she is the perfect dog for us!
Devereaux will be 13 weeks on Sunday. She is a tiny little girl weighing 3lbs 14oz, and having nearly double in size since we brought her home! Typical Cavaliers weigh between 13-18lbs, but we don't think she will get anywhere near that. She was born on February 2nd, and oddly enough is our anniversary! Which we didn't realize until my Mom pointed it out a week after we had her home with us. Now I know why I had to wait. Timing is everything! She was meant to be OUR dog. And we were meant to be HER pawrents. She has now been a part of our little family just over a month and we couldn't be more obsessed.
You're probably wondering where the name Devereaux came from. Well, I love the Golden Girls, and my favorite character is Blanche Devereaux. My Audi that I got in the accident with was affectionately named Blanche. And it was actually one of my best friends, Marrisa, who gave me the idea to name her Devereaux, in a conversation we had nearly 1.5 years ago! I am a firm believer that the name has to fit the person, or in our case, the dog. We had 2 others names we were considering, but Devereaux just fit. And she is really living up to her name- sassy as ever! A little bit dramatic, just like Blanche's character (and her mama!). She is very curious and seeks adventure. I've nicknamed her Dare-Devie because as you can see in the picture above, shes a little daredevil. Just last night, she learned how to walk up the stairs!
Devereaux loves freeze-dried chicken treats, nibbling fingers and toes (ouch!), and playing tug-o-war with her piggy. You can follow along with little Devie on her Instagram page!