We would like to introduce to you the newest member of the Wood family.

hello chopper

We devoted eleven years of our lives to loving and making our sweet Moo Bear a priority. When we lost her in December, we truly didn’t think we could ever invite another dog into our lives. Like most fur babies they are just that, an extension of our families. We decided as a family that we would take the next few years to focus on us… continue to renovate our home, travel, and save funds for a rainy day. We had no intention of growing our family until we met Chopper.

A few weeks ago, Jes’ aunt, Jen, sent us a picture of a boxer in need of a home. After seriously considering it, we decided it would just be too difficult to get her from Maryland to Arizona and care for her the way she needed. There are plenty of other animals in need of forever homes right here in our back yards. This triggered something unexpected in us. We started discussing the idea of adopting a dog that needed the love they deserve. The thought went against everything we discussed and agreed upon, but we realized something. We are a dog family and Moo would want us to love and care for another dog like we were able to do for her. So, the search (without a plan) began.

We found a few dogs in need of love and scheduled visits with them. Although they were all absolutely adorable, we weren’t the perfect fit for their needs. We had no money to give and no expectation of bringing a dog home, but Michael asked me if there were any others I wanted to see.

“Well…,” I said with a big smile, “there is this boxer puppy I found on craigslist. He is adorable and has green eyes.”

Love at First Sight

Michael was hesitant to the entire idea. He wasn’t sure about the time it would require to train a puppy and  he wasn’t emotionally ready for a boxer, but he could see the excitement in my eyes so he agreed to go meet him. Twenty minutes later, we were walking up to the sweetest little brindle boxer puppy. He was just six weeks old and had the brightest green eyes I have ever seen.

“Oh boy, how do I say no to that!?” Michael smiled. This sweet little boy kissed my chin and curled up into my arms and honestly, the rest is history. He is now a member of our family and we all just can’t get enough of him.

Below are just a few of my favorite things about Chopper.

My Favorite Things About Chopper

1. He is as ornery as his name lets on! Chopper was named after a C1-10P droid from Star Wars Rebels. You can read about six reasons we should all want to be more like Chopper here!
2. I can’t believe he let me do this obnoxiously adorable newborn session with him and I had to force him to wake up for his photos!
3. Chopper absolutely loves to snuggle, anywhere, anyhow! He even has a little backpack I carry him around in and he curls up in a newborn carry wrap when I edit and go for walks.
4. His obsession with our bed is real!
5. He eats anything and everything of nature he can find in our yard! Chopper loves sticks, grass, getting his nose in the mud, and rocks!
6. To Chopper, an adventure could be running as fast as he can under our couch and playing with the wool ball from our dryer, but he has already visited our Adventuretunity Family in Camp Verde and gone for a hike in his backpack!
7. He is currently sitting on my hands as I write this blog post and he is always keeping me company.
8. The sweet boy gets the hiccups twenty times a day.
9. This little dude is WAY MORE vocal than Moo ever was. We didn’t know Moo could even bark until she was almost 2! Chopper has been barking, growling, and speaking since day one!
10.  His favorite thing to do is get into our laps, regardless of our position, unassisted.
11. He has had three baths in his first week home.
12. His tail is clipped slightly too long for his body, just like Moo’s was!
13. Chopper is so tiny, he can fit thru the slats of our front gate.
14. He already learned how to sit, gets his teeth brushed every day, and acts just like a two year old. He gets extremely ornery the last ten minutes before he passes our into a fit of deep snores.

a few more

1. Watching all five pounds of him prance around the house with his Lambie and Dinosaur make me giggle.
2. When he leaps just a little too soon for it to be effective to get up the step or when he hops down the step with both back feet at the same time!
3. His adorable nicknames including but not limited to: El Choppo, Sir Chopsalot, Pork Chop, Chop-Chop, Choppiepooh, Chopperoni and Cheese, Chopsuey, Charlie Choplin, and Chop Sticks
4. The ability he has to carpet surf under the couch
5. How he carries tiny sticks in his mouth as he sits in his backpack.

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