The Story Of Chandlyn

Titus And Dori

"Things you'd never thought you'd say when you had kids," Chandler said as he cleaned up the mess on the floor.

Andy looked away sheepishly and tried to change the subject, "Hey Uncle Beaky we're getting a dog," he said, hoping that the bird would distract his mom long enough so he could make his escape from the dining room.

"Dog Days are over," The bird sang.

"No Uncle Beaky. Dog Days are just beginning," Julia said.

"Who let the dogs out? Who Who Who," The bird called as he flew around the room.

"Mom where are we getting the dog from?" Kennedy asked.

"From an old friend of mine from high school. She and her boyfriend breed golden retrievers," Katelyn explained as she lifted Cayden from his highchair.

"Like Airbud?" Julia asked.

Katelyn laughed, "It's the same breed, but I don't know if our puppy will be able to play any sports."

"We can teach him mom," Andy said, "After all we taught Uncle Beaky how to fetch."

////

"This place is huge," Kennedy said as she climbed out of the green minivan and looked around at the farm they were currently at.

There was a big white farm house. There were shutters on the windows and a balcony on the top floor. A wooden porch painted a golden brown colour extended around the horse. A porch swing sat on the porch.

The fields were lush and green. On the right side of the field couple horses ran wild within an area closed off by a wooden fence that looked like it had just had a fresh coat of paint.

There was a red barn and around it several smaller kennels along both sides. Several apple tree could be seen on the left side of the field and the sounds of dogs barking could be heard in the background.

"Daddy look at the horses," Julia said excitedly as she pointed at the horses, "Can we get a horse?"

"Definitely not," Chandler said firmly as he shifted a squirming Cayden from one arm to the other.

"Why not?"

"Because your dad is afraid of horses," Katelyn said as she lead her family towards the farm house.

"That's because a horse threw me off during our honey moon," Chandler said, trying to defend himself.

Before Katelyn could even knock on the door, it flew opened and Katelyn found herself engulfed in a massive hug.

"Katelyn, I've missed you," Lizzie said as she hugged one of her closet friends.

"I've missed you too," Katelyn said as she hugged Lizzie tight.

After a minute the friend pulled away and Lizzie focused her attention of the children.

"I haven't seen you guys in ages," Lizzie said as she hugged the children, all of who happily returned the hug. The three oldest had fond memories of their 'Aunt' Lizzie before she moved away from Canton almost two years ago.

"We've missed you," Kennedy said as she hugged Lizzie.

"And this little guy is Cayden," said Chandler as he gave Lizzie a hug.

"Well hello there," she cooed, "aren't you a spitting image of your daddy."

Cayden had an apprehensive look on his face and he turned and hid in his dads shoulder.

"Can you say hi?" Chandler asked.

"No no," Cayden said.

"Lizzie laughed, "So Stephen is out today, but there are plenty of puppies in the back. We had two separate litters born a few weeks ago."

"Are they ready to go home today?" Katelyn asked as they followed Lizzie towards the barn.

"Not just yet, they'll need another week or so with their mom before they can go home."

"Are we getting all the puppies?" Julia asked as she skipped beside her mother.

"No baby, just one."

"Oh come on Kate," Lizzie teased, "Don't you just want a house full of puppies to go with your house full of kids?"

"NO!" Chandler and Katelyn said together.

////

"Oh my gosh they're so cute," Kennedy cried as she sat on the grass, playing with any of the puppies that passed her bye.

All the puppies had golden goats. Most had a lighter colour but there were a few puppies who had a darker almost reddish fur.

"I know," Andy said as he scratched one on its belly.

All the puppies had instantly taken to the visiting family and everyone member of the Riggs's family was currently entertaining three to four puppies each, except for Cayden who was currently sitting on his dads lap, trying to grab one of the puppies by the tail.

"Cayden leave its tail alone bud, puppies don't like that," Chandler explained gently as he showed his youngest child how to properly pet a dog.

"Mommy how are we supposed to just choose one?" Julia asked in a dramatic tone.

"Yeah, I think we need to get two," Andy said and Kennedy nodded in agreement.

"Thwo," Cayden said and pointed towards the puppies.

Katelyn and Chandler exchanged a look. In all honesty they had both been thinking the same thing.

"Alright I guess we're getting two," Katelyn said with a smile.

"But which two do we pick?" Julia asked.

"How about this one," Andy said, picking up one of the male puppies who had play fighting with some of the other puppies, "I think he'd get along with Beaky."

"What do we call him?" Katelyn asked.

"Titus," Chandler suggested, "since he's such a strong little guy," he scratched Titus behind his ears.

"I like it," Katelyn said.

"Me too," Andy said.

"Well if we're getting a boy, then we should get a girl too," Kennedy said.

"How about this one. She seems to like us," Katelyn suggested as she picked up a puppy that had been running back and forth between everyone member of the family.

"Let's call her Dori," Julia said, the look on her face dared anyone to challenge her.

"Why?"

"Because she reminds me of Dori from Finding Nemo. Instead of 'just keep swimming' she just keeps running," Julia explained.

"I like it," Katelyn said and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well then, Titus, Dori, welcome to the Riggs family," Chandler said as his family played with their two new puppies.