Three: Company or a Crowd?

Hey Everyone!

Cary and I dropped by the Humane Society on Saturday to take the treats you donated and while we were there we fell in love with a little brindle hound puppy.  Cary and I have both said previously that two is enough, but on occasion we've also seriously considered getting a third dog.  The last time we found one that we were drawn to, Cary had just been laid off and we didn't feel like it was financially responsible to take on another dog.  By the time he'd found a job, she'd found a home, so obviously, it just wasn't meant to be.

This time, we're in a good place.  We have the room in our home and our hearts.  Of course, there are still lots of things to consider before we bring another dog into our family.  For example, Hannah and Sam will have the final say on whether this dog is a good match for our family.  We'll have to take them out to the dog park to meet this little guy and see if they get along.  Plus, we'll have to make sure this puppy would be good with cats as well.

But, the point of this blog is this:  For those of you with three, what is your experience?  Paul Knutson tells me that the adage "one dog is like one dog, two dogs is like two, but three is like six" is true.  I've never had three dogs (my parents drew the line at two!) so I'm curious if that's everyone's experience.  Plus, I'm concerned about someone being left out.  What if Sam takes to the new puppy and doesn't want to play with Hannah anymore?  Has anyone experienced that, or do they all get along well?  And overall, I just want to know what you guys think.  If you have a three dog family, are you glad or do you wish you'd stopped at two?  I'd appreciate any feedback that will help us make an informed decision.  Because, if anyone knows, it's you!

Welcome Oliver!

Hey Everyone!

Just wanted to post a few pictures of the newest member of the Bigwag family. This is Oliver, he's Brandi's new dog. He was rescued from a family in Springdale that had him tied out constantly and fed him cat food. When asked about the dog, they said they "didn't want the stupid dog" and so Oliver became a member of Brandi's family. He has no idea just how spoiled he's about to be! Poor Oliver had an eye infection and needs dental work, but he's got a great disposition and he's really adorable. Hannah and Sam get along well with Oliver and he's great with kids too! These pictures don't really do justice to how cute he is, although they do justice to how WIGGLY he is! Stop by sometime when Brandi is working to meet Oliver in person.

Our Customers Are The Best

As most of you know, BigWag is a family business. From the outset, we wanted to create a comfortable, homey atmosphere where you could bring the furry members of your family and get quality treats that would be just like the ones grandma made. (If grandma had baked cookies for the dogs!) We knew that as we added employees, we wanted them to become members of our family, not just paid help. We wanted to be that little corner shop where they actually know your name, or at least your dog's name. What I never expected was the outpouring of generosity we get from our customers. Sure, I quickly learned no one ever buys their dog treats when they're in a bad mood, which makes working here a joy. But I never expected people to respond so warmly to us and especially to our dogs. A few days ago one of our regular customers stopped by Andy's and picked up puppy cups for Sam and Hannah. (They thoroughly enjoyed them by the way! I'll post the pictures later.) Another customer and I were discussing the difficulty of finding somewhere to board the dogs at Thanksgiving, and she offered to watch them for us if I couldn't find anywhere. I was totally blown away at this extremely generous offer. And there are countless other examples that I can't even begin to completely list here. The numerous customers who donate treats to the Humane Society. The customers who put their spare change in the bottle to help defray vet costs for rescue animals. The customers who made our angel tree a huge hit last year at Christmas time. The customers who advertise for us, taking business cards or treats to their friends, family and co-workers. The ones who post fliers for our events at work. We even had a customer write about us on her own blog, complete with a link to our website! (You can visit her blog by clicking the link to Scott and Kelly under our favorite blogs) It means the world to us that our customers love us so much. So, I just wanted to take a few moments to tell all of you how much all of these gestures mean to us and that we do notice all of them. And we want to say thank you for embracing us so completely.