After losing our precious Shih Tzu of nearly 16 years we weren’t sure we were going to get another dog. Then by chance we were at the Paradise Valley Mall one weekend and my husband convinced me to just “look” at the puppies. As I started walking down the line looking in the windows of puppies I got stuck at this little guy’s window. I felt an immediate connection to the little one. He was playing with me from the other side of this glass between us! While I was smiling and laughing at this little one my husband found a store attendant named Mark. Next thing I know my husband is pulling me into a private room to hold this precious little guy. When Mark handed him to me and I was in love. While I was receiving kisses and smelling his puppy breath Mark began giving us the history on his breeder, the store, how adoption worked, health history, what was included in his purchase, and much more. We had a long line of questions and some reserve about adopting from a pet store; as many others, we had heard stories. Mark was understanding and answered our long line of questions with much patience! We then explained to him we had only lost our dog 6 months ago and I wasn’t sure I was ready to adopt again. That night when we got home I couldn’t stop thinking of this little guy. I told my husband I believed he did indeed belong with us. We immediately called Puppies N Love and asked for Mark. We asked if he was still available and he said yes, however, there was someone else that was considering adopting him. Ugg. “Okay”, I said to my husband, “if it’s meant to be it will be” and we then pulled up the website and found a picture of this little guy. I told my husband to pick a name for him. Ten minutes later we agreed on a name: Gunnar! It seemed to fit him perfectly! The next morning we rushed to the pet store at opening. Mark saw us and smiled. “You’re back”, he said. “Yes, is he still here?” we asked. He was! We took Gunnar home that day. He explored his new home and we started easing him into his new “bedroom” (kennel). He played with his new toys and checked out the backyard. The next day we took him to our veterinarian where he got a clean bill of health. We have been blessed with our newest family member. Gunnar is now 5 1/2 months old. He is full of personality, potty trained, learning tricks, full of love, and is happy and adorable! I have shared some pictures of the first day we took Gunnar home, his first Christmas (notice his tongue sticking out at posing for another picture), and his first haircut. Thank you Mark! We have had a great experience with Puppies N Love and you!

Kris