And welcome to my favorite page where I talk about my dogs!!!!

Remington

Remington (Remi for short) is a fox red Labrador Retriever and is 7 years old. I got Remi when I was living alone in Milwaukee—a brand-new city with no friends or family nearby. After about a year of solo living, I moved into an apartment that allowed dogs and immediately did the most logical thing possible: got a dog.

I did not rescue Remi. I wholeheartedly believe rescuing is incredible and I applaud everyone who does it. That said, I also believe responsible shopping can be just as great. Since I lived alone, had no backup help, and had previous experience with labs, I chose to get Remi from an AKC-registered breeder. For me, this decision really paid off. Remi was the easiest puppy imaginable. Sure, I lost sleep, cleaned up plenty of pee spots, and completely rearranged my life around her—but she has an incredible temperament and is, objectively, the best dog ever (says everyone about their own dog, but Remi is the best).

Remi continues to be the center of my world. She did struggle with reactivity during her first few years, but today she maintains a natural heel and can walk with me without a leash. Her only flaw—which is not a flaw at all I’m just still salty about because she’s so dang cute—is that she does not like to cuddle. She will tolerate occasional hugs and pets, but let’s be clear: tolerate is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. She is a “no touching, only vibes” kinda dog.

Remi is unbelievably chill and brings a sense of peace to our home—unless she’s staring directly into our souls asking for more walks or treats. She can sleep soundly through storms and fireworks and takes full advantage of nap time while we’re at work. Honestly, she’s living the dream.

Although Remi is generally lazy and proud of it, there are two activities that completely bring her to life: hunting and swimming.

We’ll start with hunting. I come from a family of hunters, and it was a big part of my life growing up. My dad would always take our labs duck hunting, and it was amazing to watch them do a job they absolutely lived for and were bred to do. I knew I wanted that for Remi.

We take Remi pheasant hunting, where she tags along with her best friend Riley, a German Shorthaired Pointer. Riley finds and points to the birds, and we send Remi in to flush them out. Watching their natural instincts kick in—and how well they work together—is genuinely incredible.

Now, I must preface this with an important disclaimer: Remi does not retrieve. Yes, I know. A Labrador Retriever that does not retrieve. She is the biggest dud when it comes to the most important part of her job title. She will not put a bird in her mouth. Ever. But she does love the adventure and is excellent at finding birds, so she still earns her keep.

Now onto Remi’s true love: swimming. Remi has been swimming since she was a puppy, and I’d argue she loves it even more than hunting—probably because we do it more often. During the summer, I try to get her swimming at least twice a month, because it’s her favorite thing and I fully support her aquatic lifestyle.

She’s also a fantastic dock diver. I never got her into competitive dock diving, but from a young age she took naturally to launching herself off the dock after her toy. It gave her so much confidence and excitement, and it’s hands-down her favorite part of swimming.

Remi is starting to gray around the muzzle, and it makes me incredibly sad. I know she still has plenty of fun years left, but I am absolutely going to lose it when… you know what, I can’t even finish that thought without my eyes watering. So we’ll stop here and move on to the next pup!

Dixie

My partner, Joe, and his family got Dixie in 2017, and she’s now 8 years old. Dixie is a beagle–golden retriever mix, though let’s be honest—she’s mostly beagle in both looks and personality. She came from a family friend’s litter and cost $100 to cover her initial vaccinations, and just like that—bloop—she became part of the family.

Dixie is awesome. She fully embraces her beagle ancestry and is absolutely obsessed with squirrels, rabbits, and rats. Not in a “let’s admire them from afar” way, but in a “catch-and-release (except not really)” kind of way. She has, in fact, caught several of each. Nature’s little overachiever.

Like Remi, Dixie struggled with reactivity when she was younger. But with time, training, and consistency, both girls have come a long way. These days, they can even be off-leash at our local park. I no longer have to worry about Dixie bolting across the park after a squirrel—unless I give her the release command, because chasing squirrels is her absolute favorite hobby and I’m not here to crush her dreams.

Dixie has also always leaned a little anxious. When she was younger, crate training was rough, and she’d channel her stress into chewing on whatever she could find—pens, pencils, remotes (RIP). Car rides weren’t much better; anxiety and motion sickness were frequent flyers. Thankfully, most of these issues started to fade once Remi and Dixie began living together full-time about four years ago.

Joe and I bought our first house four years ago and officially combined our families. At first, Dixie would howl and pace whenever we left the house, convinced we were never coming back. Remi, on the other hand—being the most easygoing dog on the planet—would simply nap and vibe. Over time, that calm energy rubbed off on Dixie. Now she can stay home alone without spiraling, she can ride and sleep in the car, and she handles thunderstorms and fireworks way better than she ever used to.She has come so far from where she started, and I’m incredibly proud of her. Proof that training, consistency, patience, and a little bit of CBD can go a very long way.

Family

All to say, I love these two dogs so much and I truly feel I have a fairy tale life right now. My little girl dreams of living my best life with furry friends is coming true and I couldn’t be happier.