For the past 6.5 weeks Raylee’s job has been being the best mom possible to the sweetest puppy in the world. Ok, yes, I may be a little biased, but seriously look at this face!

Raylee was given to us by a friend who breeds French Bulldogs. She wanted to add another female to her program but already having 5 dogs (2 pet only and 1 stud and 2 females) she felt it may be too much to add another dog to their pack. All of her dogs are pets first- they go to the dunes, the cabin, out to dinner, and even ride in a Razor frequently so I could see how keeping track of not only 5 but 6 dogs would be overwhelming. Her dogs being pets also means that she is not going to breed them until they are done and then rehome them at 5 or 6 like so many breeders do, her dogs are hers for life. She asked if we would be interested in “fostering” for her. While there is a lot that goes into it, essentially Raylee is our dog. We take care of her day in day out, however Maria, owner of Blue AZ Frenchie, has breeding rights for her. At the designated time, Raylee will be signed over to us and will then be spayed. Ill admit at first I was really torn about the arrangement.  I completely support rescue and anytime someone asks about where to get a dog I suggest different rescues I know first. However, I don’t have a problem with responsible breeders or people looking for a purebred dog.

Anyway, since I work long shifts and Maria is responsible for any puppies and can work from home, Raylee has spent the last 2 months at Maria’s home. I’ve been able to visit often, and got lots of pictures and updates when I wasn’t able to be there. I think Raylee has had a great time as well, having someone home all day, 5 other dogs to wrestle, chase, and steal toys from, and she’s even gone on trips to the cabin while I’ve been stuck at work!

Now that Louis is eating solid food and Raylee has weaned him, it was time for her to come home. Having been gone so long, I brought Raylee home expecting to capture some big dramatic home coming, and what I got was absolutely nothing of the sort. She walked in like she had simply gone to work with me for the day. When we pulled up Johnny checked us out through the window saw it was her and went to go hide his toys. Raylee walked in checked the boy’s dog bowls to make sure there were no kibbles lingering then ran over to see Thor in the dog room. I let him out and the sniffed each other and that was that. Raylee spent some time sniffing around, checking everything out and about 20 minutes later wrestle mania ensued.

While I was initially a little bummed not to get a more memorable reaction caught on film, I am so happy to know that she was completely comfortable while she was gone and that coming home she knew her spot in the family is hers forever. We will still visit with Louie a few more times before he goes to his forever home, and I know he’ll keep learning proper behavior from “his aunts” Kona and Talay who are all to eager to take over the puppy raising!