There's a new man in my life.

[madeleone]

A very small one.

OMG! I just wrote a whole entry about Quigley and when I posted, LJ somehow deleted everything below the pic. Grrrr!

Quigley is almost four months old and has been with us for about six weeks. He's a petite mini goldendoodle and expected to get to about 15 to 20 pounds full grown. We lost our last furbaby almost four years ago and decided to wait awhile to adopt a new family member. It was time. We have always had big dogs, goldens, labs, irish setter, but being older we wanted a smaller dog now. A lap dog to cuddle with.

Plus last year hubby was diagnosed with IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis) a very serious and somewhat rare lung disease. Although he is doing pretty well right now the long-term prognosis is not a good one. He said he wanted to get our puppy now so he could have time to enjoy him. I've wanted a goldendoodle or labradoodle for some time, but was hesitant because of the expense for what is essentially a mixed breed (mutt). The the fact that the goldendoodles are low shedding and low dander was a factor, even though he's not allergic it seemed like a plus considering his lung condition.

He got his name because I wanted an Irish'y sounding name and suggested Finnigan (Finn) or Seamus (Shay) and yes I just noticed the HP reference there when I wrote the two names down—duh! But hubby was—meh. So I suggested Quigley, which he really liked. And the kicker is one of the meanings of the name Quigley is 'unruly hair'. So it's a perfect fit for him. He is AKA: Q, Quig, Quiggers, Quiggles, Quigley Wiggly, Squiggly-wiggly, Quigley Q, Good Boy, and Trouble. I jokingly say his full name is Quigley Quentin McHowley which justifies my nickname of Quigley Q, and my Irish grannie's maiden name was Howley which sounds like a good doggie name so I just added the Mc to it.

He's been a dream come true. He's funny, and crazy, and silly, and smart as can be. (He's already mastered sit, shake, down, and is nearly fully house trained.) He doesn't bark much, rides well in a car, loves his toys and treats, and is friendly and cuddly. He has brought joy to our life and we are so happy he's here.

Comments

[gelsey.livejournal.com]

Ahhhhhhh the cute!!

[madeleone]

I know! Every time in look at that face, I'm like, "OMG! You are so freakin' cute!"

[too-dle-oo.livejournal.com]

AHHHH! HE IS THE CUTEST THING IMAGINABLE!!!!!

[madeleone]

He draws so much attention whenever we go anywhere. Hubby says that young guys should get a dog like Quig and take him out to cool, hip places and they would have the girls falling all over them! LOL! Maybe we could rent him out.

[too-dle-oo.livejournal.com]

I think everyone would be falling all over them: girls, families with kids, older folks, other dogs. How could anyone possibly walk away from puppy without asking to pet him?

[gingerbred.livejournal.com]

That totally works. The BFF used to borrow pupper (until she got too wild for him). Cute fluffy dog on leash? The ladies come flocking.

[dreamy-dragon73.livejournal.com]

Awww, he's adorable

[madeleone]

Thanks! We think so too. :-)

[nutmeg-44.livejournal.com]

He's so cute! So squishy! I love that face.

[madeleone]

You're so right. How could anyone resist him?

[beffeysue.livejournal.com]

Quigley is SO CUTE! How could anybody pass by this face and not want to cuddle him?!?! I'm so happy y'all have him!

[madeleone]

Thanks! He's a keeper.

[kellychambliss.livejournal.com]

Quigley and his name are both adorable. I share your love of bigger dogs (we had a golden lab when I was growing up), but smaller ones are just as endearing, and Mr Q is clearly a sweetheart.

Sorry to hear about your husband's IPF; glad he's doing well.

[madeleone]

Thanks, Kelly. He's so cute it would be hard not to love him. And for now Hubby is holding his own. He's one of the only two meds used for IPF and seems to be tolerating it well.

[blueartemis07.livejournal.com]

Congrats on the furbaby!

[madeleone]

Thanks, Blue. He won't get anywhere near as big as your pup will, but he'll still bring lots of love.

[kit10notk9.livejournal.com]

Huh, and my first thought was you named him after Tom Selleck's character from the movie 'Quigley Down Under' in which he played opposite Alan Rickman.! XD

[gingerbred.livejournal.com]

That was my thought, too. (Great minds? 😉) Or we've got AR on the brain...

[kit10notk9.livejournal.com]

Both.

[madeleone]

Oh, that was one of the first things hubby said! LOL. In fact, he watched it last week.

I always was a Tom Selleck fan since his Magnum, PI days. And my obsession with AR is well known.

[themightyflynn]

So cute! I want to scruff up his hair XD

[madeleone]

Exactly this! I'll pet him and smooth it all down and then use my fingertips and pull it into little spikes! It's irresistible.

[gingerbred.livejournal.com]

Holy Cricket! He's beautiful! Those eyes! ❤️🐾🐾 Lovely. *Soulful*. *nods*

Very sorry to hear about your hubs. Fwiw, studies show dogs are good medicine in bunches of ways. (Presupposing a lack of allergies...) But all other things being equal, love helps. Fingers crossed for you both. Well, all three of you now. 🍀🍀🍀

[madeleone]

I know. When he looks at me I feel like he knows what I'm thinking--maybe dogs can do legilimency.

I agree about the benefits of pets. And although Quig loves us both, he has really bonded with hubby, which makes me very happy. He does more of the taking him out to potty and working at teaching him new commands, and he usually walks him out to get the mail every day. But if he even goes outside or down in the basement where Quigley can't see him, he'll come running to me whining with concern. Like: "Where did daddy go?"

[gingerbred.livejournal.com]

Beyond the blood pressure thing, it's proven dog owners live longer and recover faster. (Fluffiest life insurance ever... ❤️) And in the meantime, there's slobber and fun. I really adore having a dog in my life. I'm glad you both decided to welcome one back into yours.

I know that response exactly. When I'm having a really bad day, sometimes I take the garbage out just to have an excuse to leave and get welcomed back. All it takes is a minute or two of being gone, and you get this reception... It's like you're the best thing *ever*. Makes everything a little bit better. 😊

[enchanted-jae.livejournal.com]

He's adorable!

[madeleone]

Thanks. He's hard to resist he's so darn cute.