Is there anything, ANYTHING, I ask you, cuter than a puppy?

The correct answer is NO, and I'll tell you why.

I know you're thinking, but a baby is cuter! Well....if you're being honest with yourself, you'll realize that is just not always true. Babies are small. They are sweet. And often, they turn out to be darn cute humans. But they don't always start out cute.

Now dogs, on the other hand...they may grow up to be the ugliest thing ever, but somehow, they are all cute as puppies.

But in the humble opinion of this writer, the cutest puppy ever would have to be the Golden Retriever.

Yes, I am unabashedly partial to Goldens, and yes, they also grow up to be gorgeous adults, but there is something about their blonde fuzziness and floppy ears and big brown eyes as little puppies that is just heart-wrenchingly cute.

So what's gotten into me, you ask? Well, as you know if you read this blog, my precious Golden, Bailey, my soul dog for almost 11 years, passed away this past December. Given the bond I had with Bailey, that Kyle and I had with her, it has taken some time to emotionally be prepared to love that deeply again. 

But it's time. After six months, this girl is dying to have a dog in the house again. And not just any dog - another Golden. In typical fashion, I did my research. And prayed. And narrowed it down to one kennel, in particular, that had just the type of Golden I was looking for. One just like Bailey.

I arrived at this kennel by pulling out Bailey's pedigree and researching her parents and grandparents. Which led me to Karagold Golden Retrievers and the breeder, Karen Brady. Bailey's dad, Maguire, was a Karagold Golden. And as I browsed the Karagold website, I kept coming across pictures of dogs that looked remarkably like Bailey. 

To you, a Golden may look just like every other Golden, but that's an over-generalization. When you start really looking, you can see family resemblances just like in humans. And it was evident that the line of Goldens Karen has produced has some definite family traits, and that was exactly what I was hoping for.

I don't believe in coincidence, so I conclude that God prompted Kyle and I to get serious about our search at just the right time, because when I started to look seriously at Karagold, turns out they had 2 litters pending. And after submitting an application, I was amazed to hear from Karen almost immediately! Something about our application spoke to her and we will be getting a puppy from her in a few weeks!

If you want to see pictures of the puppies (it's the Bumper/Boomer litter), check out her website.

I do, just about daily. The pictures of those little furballs is a healing salve to this girl who just can't be without a Golden. I need them like my lungs need oxygen.