Looking for a dog is like looking for love on a dating app. I needed to create a ‘profile’, that is, the puffed-up best part of me and us. I sent emails to breeders: “We are looking for a Chessie. We have done our research and we know the Chessie is the dog for us. We are looking for a water dog because we are water people. We swim! We boat! We live near the water. We are energetic empty nesters with lots of love to give a dog. And I work from home. We will give this dog a great life!”
I sent out about ten emails to Chessie breeders, zeroing in on locations that were within a day’s drive. Driving farther than that would mean staying overnight in a hotel during Covid, which I did not want to do. And I knew good breeders hated putting puppies on planes.
I waited a few days and did not get any responses. I felt personally rejected, Did we not seem like viable candidates for a Chessie pup? How worthy did we have to be for this breed?
I knew Chessies were great swimmers with webbed feet and a double coat to repel water. But I also knew they were primarily used as gun dogs. They were soft-mouthed retrievers. You shoot the duck and then your Chessie finds it and brings it back unharmed (except for the being shot part). Maybe breeders were a picky lot, only wanting dogs to go to homes where they could chase after dead ducks.
Would joining the Chessie Club mean I had to hunt? That wasn’t likely. Should I photograph myself in camouflage fatigues to look the part? That would be fun dress up for me, guerilla war paint and all, but ultimately a difficult impersonation to pull off.
So I expanded my location search. We would stay overnight in a hotel during Covid. I would suffer my love. It was summer and infection rates were low. We would bring disinfectant and sterilize everything we touched in the hotel room.
Finally, I got two replies. The validation I so desperately wanted! I pounced, writing back immediately, repeating my allegiance to the breed, my time available to spend with the dog, my commitment to training.
The Michigan breeder had a litter due the first week of July. The Delaware breeder had a litter due in September. I wanted the puppy asap; I had visions of house training it under the warm summer skies.
I called the Michigan breeder. Breeders are a wary lot and obsessively brand loyal. She scoped me out. She bluntly told me she did not want her puppy being an impulse Covid purchase. I responded with restrained outrage at the idea of such a thing, though of course, that was exactly what I wanted, a Covid puppy to get me through quarantine. She said lots of people are getting dogs during this virus and then they go back to work, they can’t take care of it. I convinced her I would be a responsible dog owner and told her I was going part-time soon (the truth) - and she (somewhat reluctantly) put aside a puppy for me. I sent my deposit. What color would you like? she asked.
And that was that. A financial transaction sealed the deal. All I could think of was that there was a puppy in embryo somewhere in Michigan that would soon come home with me. Finally a match.