This question makes me smile because I have a really cool story of how life lead me to where I am now. So here is the story of how I went from being a Nurse Practitioner to a “dog breeder” (in quotations because it is so much more than “dog breeding”). It is a way of life.
So here is the story – June 22, 2017 a dog walked into a doctor’s office. Seriously… a cute (but kind of ugly) Old English bulldog slipped through the door into the lobby of my doctor’s office to escape the heat. (Or maybe she thought she had an OB appointment?? Shout out to all my old FIM peeps!!!) No one claimed her nor knew where she came from, so we immediately snapped pictures of her and posted them on Facebook. She looked well cared for and it didn’t look like she had missed many meals. At the end of the day, we still had no leads on her owners, so she and I loaded up and headed to daycare to pick up the kids.
After 2 weeks of no luck finding her owners, my family was in love with her so we decided she was ours. The girls named her Belle Belle and we took her to the vet to get her checked out….thats when we learned she was pregnant! I might have been as excited then as I was when I…nevermind, I shouldn’t say that. Anyway, the next day I did find her owner and I broken-heartedly returned “Belle Belle” to her home which was very close to the doctor’s office. But I couldn’t get her out of my mind…I was worried about her…I wanted her back. Her owner mentioned she was having some financial issues, so the next day I returned to her front door and asked if I could buy Belle Belle. We agreed on a price and Belle Belle and I headed HOME to get prepared for having puppies!!!
Belle Belle surprised us with 11 puppies the night before my husband and I were to go on a 10th anniversary trip. I found her having them under a bush in our backyard. I spend about 5 hours under that bush with her. She worked so hard…she was so tired. 11 puppies is a lot for any dog but most of the time bulldogs require c-sections. She delivered them all naturally. I like to think she needed me there helping her…I know I needed her.
We cancelled our plans and spent the week at home, kid free, loving on the puppies and caring for Belle Belle. I told my husband then that I had to experience this again. That’s when he and I began putting together a business plan for Double U Doodles. One step at a time, we trusted that this was the path that had been laid before us. Belle Belle had been put in my life, in all of our lives, for a reason. We are 5 years into our journey and each day I am thankful that Belle Belle walked through that door!
